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WGHS - News Releases

February 21, 2005
WGHS Trustees approve first step toward construction project

The West Georgia Health System Board of Trustees today adopted a resolution that takes the first step toward financing the renovation and expansion of buildings on the health system's main campus over the next five years. The board approved an Official Intent Resolution for Capital Expenditures, which allows WGHS to establish time boundaries for capital expenditures covered by a bond issue that the health system is pursuing to finance the projected $110 million construction project.

“By adopting this resolution, we will be able to include capital expenditures related to our facility expansion in the ultimate financing package,” explains WGHS President/CEO Jerry Fulks. “Therefore, any preliminary expenditures, such as architects' fees, construction planners' fees, engineering costs and other similar costs may be reimbursed from the proceeds of the bond issue.”

With the help of facility planning consultants Morell and Associates, the Health System's leadership team has been working since last August to develop a long-range facility master plan. This plan, which will continue to evolve over the next six to eight weeks, will modernize WGHS buildings and enable the Health System to deliver state-of-the art care to serve West Georgia's growing population over the next 10-15 years. It will include a new emergency department, intensive care unit, bed tower, larger patient rooms, expanded departments, more convenient access externally and internally, among other features.

Once the facility master plan is finalized, it will be submitted to the WGHS Board of Trustees for approval in April or May. From that point, the Health System executive team and board will begin interviewing/selecting architects to develop detailed architectural plans. They also will begin preparing a package to finance the project via the bond market.

If everything goes according to plan, the architectural plans and financing package should be complete by late 2005, at which time the Health System will submit a certificate of need application to the Georgia Department of Community Health and issue a request for proposal for construction management. The selection of a general contractor and groundbreaking are expected to occur in 2006, with the new and renovated facilities projected to open by 2009.