Foundation work begins at St. E's campus

HMHP is committed to bolstering the local economy through the project.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR STAFF Writer
BOARDMAN -- Site work nears completion, and foundation work has begun at the $77 million St. Elizabeth Boardman Campus.
Erection of the steel structure is expected to start in April.
"We're still on schedule for a summer 2007 opening," said Sally Hammel, a hospital spokeswoman.
A $3 million contract for sitework was awarded to Miller-Yount Paving of Warren and Parisi Paving of Boardman. It includes leveling the property at the corner of Market Street and McClurg Road and creating site parking, drives, detention pond and utilities.
The $2.5 million contract for the foundation was awarded to Mike Coates Construction of Niles, and Amthor Steel, which has a Boardman office, was awarded the roughly $4.3 million contract for the steel package.
Hammel said HMHP is committed to boosting the local economy and using local workers.
"These are our friends and our neighbors," she said. "Our employees' families are potentially affected when we use local contractors."
The contracts were competitively bid with local and regional subcontractors, and local subcontractors have been awarded packages for other work, hospital officials said.
"We're here in the community, and we're committed to this area," Hammel said.
Location
Humility of Mary Health Partners is building the new seven-story hospital -- the first new full-service hospital in the Mahoning Valley in nearly 50 years -- around the St. Elizabeth Emergency and Diagnostic Center.
Although the entrance to the center from Market Street is closed while work progresses, access remains from McClurg.
"The Emergency and Diagnostic Center remains open throughout the process," the spokeswoman said.
The new hospital will employ about 400 full-time personnel with a $20 million annual payroll. But HMHP plans to keep the St. Elizabeth main facility in Youngstown open, continuing to provide all of the services it now offers.
About 90 people work at the facilities already at Market-McClurg, and HMHP invested about $30 million between the Emergency and Diagnostic Center and the wellness center that's part of the D.D. & amp; Velma Davis Family YMCA.
The new hospital will include five operating rooms, two endoscopy suites, stage one and two recovery areas and 12 intensive care beds. Space for a cardiac catherization lab also is available.