Barrett Hospital & Healthcare: Facility Replacement Project.

Replacement Facility Project Facts

“Building for Future Generations”

Barrett Hospital & HealthCare’s current facility has served the area’s growing needs for more than 40 years; truly connecting patients with quality care. In order for us to continue to offer high-quality care, retain and attract expert physicians and staff, we need to construct a modern facility that is designed to meet the growing needs of an expanding 21st century patient population. It is also very important for everyone to know that financing our new facility is the sole burden of Barrett Hospital Development Corporation; this means that your taxes will not be affected and no general obligation bonds will be issued to pay for this facility.

Some important reasons why we need a new hospital replacement facility:

Outward appearance of our current facility is deceptive as the infrastructure of our existing building/facility plant is aged and cannot accommodate new wiring, additional wiring and duct work.

The central patient waiting area is crowded and overflows on busy days

There are insufficient numbers of exam and treatment rooms.

Exam and treatment rooms are too small for today’s technology.

Patient privacy is a challenge due to congested areas.

Patient departments are not located close to one another which make it inconvenient for patients and staff members.

The nurse’s station is too small, congested and as a result, is often noisy.

Our operating rooms need to be larger to accommodate today’s technology.

The Emergency Department’s work space and patient areas are too small,

Privacy in the Emergency room is lacking.

Registration and Patient Financial Services have little or no private areas to discuss financial issues.

Most patient rooms are double occupancy, one has 3 beds and one shared bathroom.

Cardiac Rehab and Ultrasound share one space making scheduling difficult occasionally resulting in a delay of services.

CT and Nuclear Medicine are inconveniently located on the far side of the emergency department.

The Radiology Department is too small, making it difficult to accommodate new and existing technology. Work space is also cramped.

The Lab has outgrown its congested area making it difficult to accommodate new and existing technology. Work space is also cramped.

There are only 3 public restrooms in the hospital

The cafeteria seats 34, and is too small accommodate visitors and staff at the same time; often times staff often has to eat at their desks due to a lack of available seating.

The in- patient pharmacy is currently located in what was formally a storage closet.

The surgery locker room is so small that there is not enough space to store surgical scrub garb for all the staff.

On-site laundry facilities are cramped.

Storage space limited

The Auxiliary Gift Shop is too small.

A new updated facility would attract and retain quality providers and medical staff.

Barrett Hospital & HealthCare thoroughly explored both the option of building a new hospital and the option of retrofitting and/or remodeling the current facility to meet Medicare and state licensure standards and our ever increasing needs. While the short-term cost of building a new hospital that could expand to meet Barrett Hospital & HealthCare’s future growth would be higher than retrofitting the current facility, the long-term cost of staying at the current facility would actually be more expensive. The replacement hospital will be designed to expand so that it's appropriate not only for the current decade but also for the next 50 years and beyond. One other important factor that was considered was the feasibility of continuing operations while doing extensive construction/remodel at our current site. The construction would have taken several phases, causing continual disruption.

New Hospital Floorplan

First Floor

Second Floor

Our New Hospital – Answers to Your Questions

Q: Will my taxes go up when the new hospital is built?
A: NO. Barrett Hospital is a public district hospital formed under the laws of Montana in 1987. The current mill levy provides a nominal amount of funding to the hospital and an increase in the mill levy is not anticipated due to the project.

Q: Will rates go up because of this new hospital?
A: No, the new hospital project should have no direct relationship to an increase of fees/rates, and the intent is to continue to remain priced competitively with similar size facilities in Montana and nationally.

Q: Why do we need a new hospital?
A: Changing times, new advances in medicine, and new technologies have made an enormous impact on the provision of health care across the nation. Deciding how best to serve our community’s healthcare needs in the coming decades was a complex decision. Our current hospital has served Dillon and the surrounding area for decades and will continue to do so during construction of a new hospital. Ultimately, we were faced with the decision of spending money to maintain an aging building or investing in a modern facility allowing for expanded and enhanced services in order to keep pace with current and future health care demands.

Q: What does Critical Access Hospital mean?
A: Barrett Hospital & HealthCare is licensed as a Critical Access Hospital by the Montana Department of Health & Human Services for 20 beds. Barrett Hospital became a Critical Access Hospital (CAH) in 2001. A (CAH) is a hospital that is licensed to receive cost-based reimbursement from Medicare. The reimbursement that CAHs receive was an improvement over the previous system and is intended to cover the expense of providing healthcare services to Medicare recipients. This is an ideal time to build a new facility because we have no idea if the present reimbursement structure will change in the future.

Q: What will the new hospital cost?
A: The total estimated construction cost for the project is $21.5 million; the total project cost is $35 million. This includes design fees, construction costs, land purchase, new equipment, furnishings, and financing costs.

Q: Why was a new site needed?
A: The Board engaged a professional firm to analyze several options including renovation of the current hospital building, building a new hospital on the current campus and building a new hospital on a new site. Building on a new site was chosen because it proved to be the least disruptive to existing operations, the most cost effective over the long term, and allows for a high degree of expansion in the future.

Q: What do you plan to do with the current Hospital?
A: The hospital will remain fully open to serve the communities during construction of our new facility, which is scheduled to be completed in late 2011. A committee will be formed to investigate possible uses for the building once we relocate. We are committed to promoting the future utilization of the current campus in the most cost effective fashion for the public district hospital.

Q: When I make a donation, will it be tax deductible?
A: Yes, Barrett Hospital Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, therefore all contributions made to Barrett Hospital Foundation are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowable by law.

Q: How will the new hospital be paid for?
A: The HUD 242 program will be used to pay for the new hospital in addition to the equity portion that will be provided by combining funds from hospital operations, the capital campaign and a Community Development Block grant for the offsite infrastructure. The HUD financing is desirable because it is specifically designed for this type of hospital replacement project. It includes a low fixed interest rate over a 25 year term and is “non-recourse” meaning that HUD has a mortgage on the new hospital building and a pledge or revenues.

Q: How can we help as a community?
A: The best way for the community to help pay for the new hospital, in addition to contributing to the capital campaign, is to use the hospital and physician clinic services and not take healthcare business that can be provided locally to other hospitals.

Q: How can I help as an individual?
A: Spread the good news to your family, friends and guests that yes we are building a new hospital and you can help by providing answers to the above questions. If you are asked questions that you cannot answer regarding this project, please call Steve Hannah (406.683.3006) or the Foundation Office (406.638.6737).