Public input sought

Powell Valley Healthcare leaders will be making some big decisions in coming weeks and months, and they want your input and opinions before making them.

The Powell Valley Healthcare board — comprised of the seven Powell Hospital District board members plus three doctors — recently was given three concepts in regard to master facility planning. The concepts range from modest changes to get the organization by for the next few years to most everything PHVC leaders and the community could want.

The three concepts were explained to the board in January by representatives of Davis Partnership, the firm hired to develop a master facilities plan for the hospital complex. (See related story on Page 1.)

The first would make enough improvements in the hospital building to get by for a few years; a more aggressive plan would address most of the facility priorities on the Powell Valley Healthcare campus, and a third would make major changes to position the organization for growth far into the future.

Each concept would involve several construction phases.

It should be emphasized that these are concepts that have not advanced yet to the point of becoming a plan. They are very much subject to change as new thoughts and ideas come into play.

Of course, the more elaborate the plan, the more extensive — and expensive — the building project would be.

The best solution, one person noted, might be something of a compromise between the second and third proposals — Concept 2.5.

In their continuing discussions, the board and PVHC leaders agree that additional time and more community input is needed before they make a decision about what direction or concept to aim at when planning for future facility changes and expansions. They will be reaching out to the community soon to explain the concepts and ask for your input and ideas. This facility is vital to our community, and we hope you get involved.