Punxsutawney Area Hospital Case Study

Project Background

Punxsutawney Area Hospital (PAH) was not meeting anticipated community needs, as was outdated and limited in size. Designed in the was early 1970’s the current hospital was constructed in 1975 with minimal renovations and today manages approximately 13,600 visits in a typical calendar year. The PAH capital project need was focused on advancing the hospital into the 21st century for elevated patient care.

As the need for emergency department services continues to grow in the community, PAH proposed a renovation to the existing space in order to address current deficiencies. The previously existing emergency department was constrained by a poor physical layout with a space that was undersized to meet the current demands of a modern and technologically advanced Emergency Department should in order to meet Department of Health requirements aimed at serving bariatric and related behavioral health patients.

The previous 3,500 sqft., 9-bay Emergency Department was undersized programmatically and thereby limited its required support service functions. Based on the average daily visits, peak visits, and today’s Departmental Gross Square Footage (DGSF) standards, the Emergency Department was undersized and needed a minimum 10-bay, 8,000 to 10,000 sqft. Emergency Department. The Design Team considered program needs and discussed renovation of the previous space or expansion/renovation. PAH and Design Team noted existing space would not work and expansion/renovation would be required. In order to maintain patient services and minimize down time, PAH requested to construct/renovate in phases and move departments into new spaces while operating from existing suites.

Stroudwater Capital’s Role

The SCP team were engaged on the PAH project to run the USDA application and financing process. We helped PAH build the team to provide the professional services to complete the application in addition to acting as a the liaison with USDA to help facilitate questions about the application. The rest was ultimately helping secure the commitment for a 21,541,000 direct USDA loan at a rate of 3.625%, and then continue on to coordinate the interim BAN financing for construction.

Legacy

Once Punxsutawney Area Hospital has completed construction of the building expansion and renovation project, it will provide a new ‘front door’ service improving current amenities and will prepare for the needs of the patient base of the Punxsutawney Area, Northern Indiana, and Southern Jefferson Counties. The long-term goal of this project is to facilitate a shift to more outpatient-oriented care and improve the patient experience to better serve the community of Punxsutawney. The new space is designed to be compliant with all current healthcare codes, to be energy and operationally efficient, and to deliver modern, private, and safe medical care.