Powell Valley Healthcare’s new ambulance bay is now in use and the hospital district is almost done paying for it.

At Monday’s board meeting, hospital CEO Joy Coulston noted the district is finishing up paying for the new garage, which started being fully used Oct. 18.

Last December, Powell Hospital District trustees unanimously approved a $588,000 bid by TNT Contractors of Denver for the project.

The facility provides additional space for ambulances and complements the current bays, while offering better storage and an aerosol decontamination bay. Prior to the new garage, the Powell fire hall had to be used for any decontamination.

New registration area

The hospital has added an additional registration area in a space behind the existing registration that had been an office space. Now, Coulston said it’s being used as registration overflow, so when two are busy, a third person can register people.

“That will be really helpful as a stopgap,” Coulston said. “People can also register online. With all that, we can come close to eliminating wait time.”

— By Zac Taylor