Work on Ark City’s replacement hospital just of U.S. 77 is at least a month ahead of schedule and $1.2 million under budget, city officials said this week.
If crews keep the current pace, work on the building ? which is meant to replace the aging South Central Kansas Regional Medical Center in downtown Ark City ? should be complete by January of next year.
The city originally thought construction would wrap near the end of February.
City manager Steve Archer said finishing ahead of schedule doesn’t necessarily mean the hospital will open any sooner, but a quicker end to construction would mean plenty of time to make a transition from old building to new.
Archer also addressed concerns about space issues that mean the new hospital can’t house some outpatient services that are part of the current hospital. There have been some questions in regard to whether all current operations at the hospital can be transferred to the new hospital.
Archer said there are some existing operations that won’t fit in the main hospital building being construction now. But those limitations were known in the beginning and brought on by efforts to live within budget constraints for building the new hospital.
But now it appears construction will come in about $1.2 million under budget, Archer said, and discussions are underway about constructing a building to house outpatient services. The money saved on the main building would fund the second building, he said.
"Decisions about what to include were budget driven," Archer said. "Space for those services was left out by design, and not due to oversight."
