A $16 million renovation project at Myrtue Medical Center in Harlan, is nearing completion. The project, which started back in June of 2011, is 70% finished, and is on track to be completed by next May 2013. Barry Jacobsen, CEO of Myrtue Medical Center, says employees have been working in some of the new areas of the facility, for  the past few months. That includes the new lab department and data center. Jacobsen says their main focus has been the surgery addition, an adjacent addition, and renovation of the radiology area. Those areas are near completion and should be done by late November.

Jacobsen says once those areas are open and equipment moved, patients will be able to use the facilities on January 1^st. The construction crews meanwhile, are continuing to work on the south patient parking lot as well and are on schedule to be completed in the next two weeks. He says once the surgery and outpatient clinics have relocated, crews will start working on the 2^nd floor. Work on the new business offices, respiratory therapy and sleep study rooms, is expected to begin in January.

A small addition has also been added on the north side as well as parking. Once the project is complete the Auble conference room will be on the north side for meetings. Jacobsen says one of the main corridors of the hospital has re-opened, and although the project isn’t expected to be completed until May of 2013, Jacobsen says the hospital is planning an open house towards the end of this year. The open house is likely to take place sometime this December.

(Joel McCall)