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"This
is an important place," said the architect Don
Prochaska at Saturday's dedication. "It's a
place to begin life, to improve life, and some will
end their lives here."
"The
two marks of a good community," observed Alaska
Lt. Governor Loren Leman "are the health care
and the education systems. This will provide a
lifetime of care from birth to extended care."
The dedication ceremony played itself out on a brisk
autumn morning almost a year to the date when ground
was broken, and a decade after the Valdez city
council set the wheels in motion.
Center
Closed
The planning of the new facility hastened in the
1990s as the state slowly phased out the Harborview
Developmental Center of which the old hospital was a
Siamese twin. With Harborview closed and shuttered,
the maintenance and operations costs soared and
burdened the hospital.
In
recent years, the city has been paying an annual
subsidy of around $1 million to keep the hospital
afloat.
Al
Parrish, the new president of Providence Health Care
Systems Alaska, alluded to the financial woes by
saying the new hospital "will add quality care
to the community and bring costs under
control."
The
city is hoping the new hospital will pay its way
and, perhaps, even yield a profit. The key to
financial success, as viewed by the city, is a
hospital management contract with Providence Alaska
along with more local services and the use of the
pricey 10 long term care beds for the elderly.
From
The Heart
Many of the comments at Saturday's dedication were
from the heart and directed to the quality of life.
Rev. Dan Bower, for example, said his wife Nancy had
gone to Florida to tend her ailing mother, an
Alzheimer's patient.
"Nancy
will not leave Florida without her mother,"
said Rev. Bower, so she will become one of the first
occupants of the new extended care facility.
For
city manager Dave Dengel, the new hospital "is
the project I am most proud of."
Not
Too Soon
The new hospital comes on line not a moment too soon
for the medical staff.
"We
had to lead patients through the men's room to get
to the ultrasound facility," said Dr. John
Cullen the chief of staff.
The
birthing room, he said, was so tiny "we had
standing room only," he said tongue in cheek.
Additionally, the oxygen system leaked and the
heating/cooling system was erratic and blew hot and
cold.
By
contrast, he said, the new hospital has "the
most beautiful delivery room I have ever seen."
"This
is an incredible day," declared Pam Shirrell,
chair of the hospital board. Referring to those who
say the new hospital looks like a ship, she called
the names of two dozen movers and shakers who
brought the facility to reality. As their names rang
out, each person stepped forward to clutch a long
rope; these were the people, she said, who hauled in
the hospital "ship."
Quality
of Life
This is a quality of life issue," declared
Mayor Bert Cottle. "We no longer need to send
our people to Anchorage for long term care. We are
fulfilling a moral obligation to our seniors."
He
paid tribute to state Rep. John Harris, saying
"without his politics in Juneau this (hospital)
would not have happened."
Rep.
Harris was on the job at the Ft. Greeley missile
project in Delta and not able to attend.
Also
absent from the ceremony, and not listed in the
program was Jim Culley, the former hospital
administrator and a central player in the
development of the hospital. After eight years on
the job, Culley resigned two months ago and moved to
Fairbanks.
Following
the dedication, the gathering was invited inside for
a final public look-see in the nooks and crannies of
the hospital.
The
move-in is mostly finished, but is expected to take
several more weeks before complete
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