The Salida Hospital District Board unanimously passed a resolution at a special board meeting on June 
16 authorizing construction of a new medical office building on the main campus of Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center. The board also approved expansion of the existing laboratory and construction of new staff parking lots as well as internal roads to access those lots.
Mark Johnson, an architect with Heery Design, presented the design-development drawings for the 48,000-square-foot expansion at the meeting.
A one-story addition to the hospital lab at its current location would provide another 2,200 square feet to accommodate the recent growth in lab services. The proposed medical office building is three stories and adds 46,601 square feet to the south side of the hospital.
The first floor of the medical office building would expand the café and infusion services and add new office and exam space for HRRMC’s urology, gynecology, neurology, and internal medicine practices. There would be an adjoining space and separate entrance for a retail pharmacy and the private cardiology and surgery practices.
The second floor would house the cardiac rehab, wellness and rehab departments, and include a walking track and therapy pool.
The third floor would be home to HRRMC’s orthopedics, pain management and psychiatry practices. The construction timeline is 16 months and the next step is application to the City of Salida for the appropriate permits and licenses.
Part of the space on the second and third floors would be left unfinished, allowing for future expansion.
“The hospital board, administration and staff have worked closely with Heery Design, Colarelli Construction, and Adams Management Services, over many months to develop expansion plans that will meet the needs of our growing number of services and providers,” said hospital CEO Bob Morasko. “We look forward to providing our patients and providers with a well-designed space centrally located at the hospital.”
Vince Colarelli, president of Colarelli Construction which is managing the project, explained the cost-estimating process and the emphasis on including local contractors in the process.
The estimated cost of the new parking lots and associated site work, including utility work and creation of detention basins, is $1.49 million. The estimated cost of the lab expansion and construction of the medical office building is $23.8 million. Those estimates include a 12% contingency fee and all furnishings for the new space.
Lesley Fagerberg, HRRMC’s VP finance, gave an overview of the hospital’s financials from 2013 through projections for 2021 and confirmed that the hospital is in a sound financial position to pay for the project. The hospital plans to borrow $10 million and pay the remainder out of cash.
Last year, the hospital refinanced the bonds, at a 5.25% interest rate, that helped pay for the new hospital in 2008 with a banknote at 2.96% interest. Even with borrowing another $10 million on the banknote, the hospital would pay less per month on the new loan than they paid on the bond.
