Harrison County Community Hospital in Bethany is in the process of designing and obtaining financing for a new facility. Chief Executive Officer Tina Gillespie says the current core facility on Miller Street is 70 years old, the patient wing was built in 1965 with semi-private inpatient rooms.
The new facility would provide different services other than what is offered at the current facility.
Gillespie reports the hospital has a schematic design for the proposed facility, which would be more than 83,000 square feet in size.
The board of directors also purchased land on 39th Street in Bethany north of Dairy Queen and between Highway 136 and the South Harrison School. The plan is to place the new facility toward the north end of the property. The hospital Board of Directors approached the Bethany City Council asking for approval to move 39th Street which would position the flow of traffic on the east side of the new hospital campus.
Three locations were considered for the new Harrison County Community Hospital, with all three having advantages.
The hospital is applying for a United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development Community Facility Loan for 80% of the project. The remainder of the project is slated to be financed with hospital revenue bonds. The total current cost estimate is just over $62 million, which would include the site, building, equipment, financing professional fees, and contingent fees.
Gillespie hopes the project can go out for bid in spring 2023, with construction commencing after bids are awarded. Target project completion would be approximately spring 2025, and the new facility would open at that time.
The Harrison County Community Hospital is independent of any health system operating completely on its own.
