Sound & Communications February 2009 Issue

should open to patients in October2009 after a few monthsof preparations.In Oakdale CA, Oak ValleyHospital District held a groundbreakingceremony in Decemberfor a new 123,000-squarefoot,$69 million hospital. Thedistrict recently attained approvalto build the hospital intwo phases: The first phase will involvebuilding the entire two-story structure,but will only outfit the first floor forpatient use. It will include a 12-spaceemergency room, two operating rooms,five post-anesthesia beds, two GI procedurerooms, seven out-patient surgicalprep and recovery rooms, CT andMRI imaging, and the laboratory. Thehospital’s second floor, which will bevacant for an undetermined period,eventually will contain individual roomsfor patients. The new hospital will befinished in 2011.From The HeartlandHeartland Health (St. Joseph MO)has decided to progress with constructionprojects that, it says, will add $62million to the local economy and employabout 100; several of these shouldbe complete within months. The HumanMotion Institute, located on thehospital’s second floor, will affordpatients recovering from orthopedicand neurological surgeries access toa gym and group therapy. Completionwas scheduled between writing andpublication.A project on the fourth floor will permitall surgical patients to be in onearea. And, the medical oncology unitwill move from the third to the secondfloor to create a 48 medical-bed unitwith all patients together. The medicaloutpatient unit will shift from the secondfloor to the third to accommodatea new long-term acute care hospital,scheduled for March completion.St. Luke’s Hospital and RehabCareGroup have announced the opening ofthe $7.5 million St. Luke’s RehabilitationHospital in west St. Louis CountyMO. St. Luke’s has relocated inpatientrehabilitation to the new hospital, threemiles from St. Luke’s main campus inChesterfield. The new 35-bed inpatientrehabilitation facility offers medical andtherapy services for residents of the St.Louis metropolitan area. The hospitalhas nearly 500 beds and offers morethan 60 specialty areas, such as cardiovascularcare and surgery, cancer care,neurosurgery and neurology.In November, plans were announcedfor the modernization and expansionof Los Angeles International Airport.Planned improvements include majorrenovation of the Tom Bradley InternationalTerminal, a cross-field taxiwayand a midfield concourse, as well asa new passenger processing facility.The Bradley Terminal will involve thereconstruction of two concourses andnew gates on the west side suitinglarger airliners, plus shops, restaurantsand lounges. At a cost between about$5 billion and $6 billion, the projectsare set to be completed by 2013.In Gainesville GA, even though theold Hall County Detention Centerhas been empty for more than a year,change is coming. County officials areleasing it to Corrections Corp.of America (CCA) and it willbe renamed the North GeorgiaDetention Center. At this writing,the firm was scheduled todo construction and renovationwork on the jail in January. CCAwill house federal immigrationdetainees. The future of the 489-bed jail has been in doubt sinceinmates were moved into a new $52million jail in November 2007.New In NormanIn Norman OK, a county jail is expectedto open in late 2011 on a 28.9-acre site. Construction is scheduledto commence in March and continuethrough September 2011. County officialshope to start using the jail, designedto house up to 542 inmates,later that Fall. Updated constructionestimates place the cost at nearly $40.3million. With required overrun and financereserve funds, the jail’s overallcost is expected to exceed $45 million.The county jail in downtown Normanhas an official capacity of 177 inmates,but more than 200 people have oftenbeen housed.It seems that, in many political powercircles, a new meme is spreading rapidly:Tax dollars should shift toward improvingAmerican infrastructure and publicfacilities. As this begins to effect changein federal, state and local budgets, weare sure to see more libraries, hospitals,airports and prisons being erected, alongwith courthouses, legislative chambersand other facilities. And, of course, all ofthese buildings will require audio andvideo outfitting, including, perhaps, theexploding trends of digital signage andvideoconferencing. The economy mightbe dour for the moment, but the futurestill looks bright.nFebruary 2009 67