The Green Mountain Care Board (GMCB) approved Fletcher Allen Health Care’s application to begin detailed planning for a new inpatient facility Thursday.
The approval of FAHC’s Conceptual Development Phase Certificate of Need (CON) will allow the hospital to begin the expected $3.7 million planning process for the new 128-bed facility, said Mike Noble, spokesperson for Fletcher Allen Health Care.
According to the CON, the cost of planning will include site work, surveying, permit consulting, traffic studies, building and engineering and LEED certification, among others.
The certificate states that the conceptual four-story facility designed to hold up to 128 single patient rooms is estimated to cost $85 million, however, that cost is subject to change.
The new building will replace the hospital’s oldest facilities, some of which are 50 to 70 years old, the newest of which are about 25 years old.
The CON states that dimensions and age of the old facilities will not allow for renovations to meet current hospital standards and needs. Currently, Fletcher Allen has a total of 373 inpatient beds.
Dave Keelty, director facilities planning and development at Fletcher Allen Health Care, said that the old buildings were built without the utilities and infrastructure required to meet current hospital standards, such as air conditioning, heating, and basic mechanical systems.
“They were built in a different era of health care,” Keelty said.
However, he said Fletcher Allen has done its best to meet current standards in difficult conditions. For the past decades, the current facilities have been renovated on a regular basis, he said.
A timeline for opening the doors
The planning process will hear input from stakeholders, which includes patients and their families, providers, and planning, design and construction teams over the next several months, a news release stated.
When the plan is complete, a CON application to build the proposed facility will be submitted to the GMCB for review.
The architectural firm of Morris Switzer in Williston has been selected to design the facility.
“We have a long-standing relationship with them, including their work on our master facilities planning over the past three years. Given their focus on health care planning and design, it made sense to continue that relationship,” said John Brumsted, M.D., president and chief executive officer at Fletcher Allen Health Care, in a news release Thursday.
Keelty said the facilities are not expected to open for at least another five to six years.
