Hospital construction still on track for 2021 opening

Construction of the new Wrangell Medical Center remains on schedule and on budget, according to SEARHC Vice President and Hospital Administrator Leatha Merculieff.

The future hospital will be about 44,500 square feet, attached to the AICS Clinic off of Wood Street, and cost about $30 million. Construction began in the spring of this year.

Merculieff said that there have been some minor delays with getting trusses shipped to Wrangell, but now all major structural materials are on the island. They are on target to be open for business in early 2021, she said.

As things currently stand, the frame of the hospital is coming together.

Merculieff said that they hope to have the roof of the building complete before the first big snowfall, and will try to get the concrete floor slab

completed over the winter. She mentioned that they are planning to move their pharmacy into the new hospital once it is completed, as well. The plan is to put the pharmacy where the clinic's community room currently is.

Merculieff added that weekly updates on construction are being posted to Facebook weekly by WMC employee Aaron Angerman. These

updates, as well as a virtual tour of the future hospital, can be found on SEARHC's Facebook page.