Hospital construction continues with COVID protections in place

Construction of Wrangell's new hospital is continuing, despite some impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic. According to an update supplied by Sondra Forrester, with SEARHC, the project has suffered from some small delays due to state and local travel mandates. Dawson Construction and SEARHC have worked with the city government to implement a "Coronavirus Site Response Plan" to help address community concerns. The plan was approved on April 3, and work crews began traveling back to Wrangell on April 10.

Scott Eastwood, superintendent with Dawson Construction, went into some more detail of what safety precautions are now in place. No job site visitors are allowed, for example, and the entire crew receives daily health screenings. Other additions made to the site specific safety plan include workers avoiding sharing tools and equipment, regularly washing their hands, socially distancing whenever possible, and reporting all known or suspected COVID-19 illnesses based on symptoms, among other precautions. Eastwood also said, in an email to the Sentinel, that they are monitoring the job site daily and are performing additional testing on crew members flying into town, as well as putting them in isolation for two weeks.

Despite the minor delays, Hospital Administrator Leatha Merculieff said in a May 4 COVID-19 update that overall construction of the hospital is still on schedule. The new hospital is projected to be ready for business in the beginning of 2021. To help mitigate delays caused by the pandemic, the update reads, crew size has increased from 16 to 32.

"With multiple trades on-site, the progress has increased threefold," the update reads.

Currently, duct work is being installed through the building and plumbing work is ongoing. Storm drains and utility connections are being finished up, as well. The main water connection to the building was completed on April 26, according to the update. Roofing has been completed on about two thirds of the building.

Coming up, according to the update, will be work on the connecting corridor between the new hospital and the existing AICS clinic. Exterior building siding and trim was scheduled to begin this week, and should be complete by mid-July. Renovations to the clinic and exterior concrete equipment pads are scheduled to be placed in the next couple of weeks.