ALTURAS — Despite a turbulent couple of months, construction for the new Modoc Medical Center replacement facility is still on schedule and it’s expected to open to the community this September, according to a news release.
Providing project management and construction consulting services, Cumming Corporation’s regional healthcare experts have been helping to keep the $46.5 million project on-time while overseeing the development of the new 27,800-square-foot hospital, its adjacent 10,500-square-foot medical office building, and clinic, along with the nearby support building on Modoc’s 12.35-acre campus.
The single-story hospital will house eight beds, one operating room suite, and will feature radiology, emergency, dietary, and administration services onsite.
The adjacent medical office building and clinic will have 11 exam rooms, two procedure rooms, a retail pharmacy, a lab, and additional administrative offices to help support the new Modoc Medical Center.
The new Modoc Medical Center was needed to replace the previous hospital complex, which was in a flood plain and comprised of 1950’s wood-framed and masonry buildings.
The new hospital will meet all California State seismic and patient safety requirements. In addition to the new hospital and medical facilities, the site will feature ample parking, a mobile MRI docking location, and has also been approved for six onsite Care Flights per month.
The new facility will be heated entirely by a state-of-the-art geothermal water system developed jointly with the local school district with a backup system supported by propane, should the need arise.
“Not only has the project team been faced with a fast-paced construction timeline, but they have also been able to successfully navigate and implement an even more complicated Covid-19 prevention program with a safety-first approach,” said Frank Fernandez, Managing Director at Cumming. “The jobsite team has been willing to find new means and methods to keep the construction workers and hospital staff safe while continuing to keep the project within budget and completing the project on time for the Alturas community.”
The healthcare facility’s owner, Last Frontier Healthcare District, received $35 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development. At the time of loan approval, it was the largest USDA Rural Development loan ever approved in California, which was granted partially on the level of local community support for the much-needed medical facility. The balance of the funding was from internal sources.
“We feel very fortunate to have the team in place that we have on this project. From our contractor, to our project manager, subcontractors, and architectural firm we feel like we have the very best professionals we could have hoped for on this project,” said Kevin Kramer, CEO of Last Frontier Healthcare District. “We are really amazed at how well this team has worked to bring this vitally important project to our community. Their work will be appreciated well into the future and means more than they will ever realize to us.”
Swinerton Builders is leading the design-build team consisting of NMR Architects and various trade partners. Site work is being done by Alturas-based White Bear Construction, which is Native American and woman-owned.