Hospital construction nears end of first year of work

Despite concerns of COVID-19, construction of the new Wrangell Medical Center has continued largely unhindered. Work on the new hospital began back in April of 2019, with an official groundbreaking ceremony in June, after the City and Borough of Wrangell and SEARHC came to a mutual agreement on the project. Work is nearing the one-year mark, and so far everything is largely on track. Current activities at the construction site include sheathing the exterior of the building, roofing work, and installation of plumbing, wall vents, and HVAC ducts.

"We are wrapping up our first year of construction with our current focus on closing in the building," wrote SEARHC Construction and Engineering Manager Mike Pountney in a March 20 update. "The building is nearly dried-in with only a small section of Area 2 remaining. The interior concrete slab was completed in mid-February and exterior wall sheathing is almost complete."

The new hospital is designed to have a footprint of roughly 45,000 square feet, with a price tag of about $30 million. SEARHC plans to have construction complete this year, with the new hospital ready for business by early 2021. The new Wrangell Medical Center is located on Wood Street, attached to the current AICS clinic. A virtual tour of the new hospital can be found on SEARHC's Facebook page, "SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC)".

When asked if anything has changed since the COVID-19 mandate went into effect, Pountney answered in an email, "We are evaluating the effects of the COVID-19 mandate with SEARHC leadership and will have an answer to this question soon we hope. Currently the crew on site has not been reduced, but [we] have implemented safety procedures to reduce risks associated with COVID. The project schedule remains the same and has not changed but will be updated if any delays occur."