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47 °F Forecast | Road Cams Tuesday, April 20, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend April 8, 2004 Jeff Drake of Klamath Falls welds a basement floor beam Tuesday in Rogue Valley Medical Center�s �bed tower,� the centerpiece of the hospital�s $92 million expansion. Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell ‘Bed tower’ bones go up Ironworkers assemble beams to create building’s framework as part of RVMC’s expansion By BILL KETTLER Mail Tribune First they dug a hole — now they’re filling it with a building. Construction crews are piecing together the steel skeleton of Rogue Valley Medical Center’s new six-story "bed tower" — the centerpiece of the hospital’s three-year, $92- million expansion and remodeling project. Over the next two months, a crew of about 90 ironworkers will assemble 1,700 tons of steel beams to create the framework for the hospital’s new patient rooms. A tall crane at the center of the building moves each piece of steel to where it’s needed. The crane can lift as much as 7,000 pounds at the far end of its 246-foot horizontal jib and 35,000 pounds near its vertical tower. Ironworkers guide the pieces to their final position and secure them. Advertisement "They swing it into place, bolt it first and then weld it," said Mike Severns, regional facilities construction manager for Asante Health System. Asante is the parent company for RVMC and Three Rivers Community Hospital in Grants Pass. Each piece of steel was precut for the building and trucked in from suburban Portland. The pieces are numbered to correspond to construction drawings that tell the crews where each piece fits. "It’s like a big jigsaw puzzle," one ironworker quipped as he lugged a portable welder to his next job. As each level of steel is completed, a floor of galvanized, corrugated steel — rather like metal roofing, but much thicker — will be welded to the horizontal beams. Then a four-inch slab of concrete will be poured on the steel to form each floor. Severns said ironworkers are putting in 10-hour days to speed the steel erection. The original work schedule called for installing about 85 pieces of steel per day, but the crews have been installing up to 150 pieces on good days. "They work rain or shine," Severns said. Sparks flew Tuesday as Jeff Drake of Klamath Falls welded two heavy beams in the basement level of the building, which will house the kitchen and dining areas as well as ventilation hardware and electrical equipment. Like many of the union ironworkers who came to Southern Oregon for the hospital job, Drake is enjoying a change of scenery for a few months. "I love working here," said Drake, an avid fisherman, who heads to the Rogue River when he has time off. "I hooked a steelhead last night." When the ironworkers finish the skeleton, the crane will lift prefabricated wall panels into place. If everything goes according to plan, the crane’s work will be finished by August, and another crane will be brought in to disassemble it. At that point, the finish work begins. Carpenters, electricians, plumbers and other tradesmen will build patient rooms, nurses’ stations and offices and install the plumbing for water, electricity and medical gases. Severns estimated about 400 people will be working on the finishing phase of the project, which is scheduled for completion during summer 2005. The bed tower, affectionately known around the hospital as "the football" for its distinctive elliptical shape, will give the hospital 299 patient beds. The project also includes a larger emergency department, which will give the hospital capacity to handle 48,000 patient visits per year. In recent years, emergency room use has grown at RVMC and other Jackson County hospitals by about 8 percent annually. RVMC managers expect emergency visits to reach 40,000 by 2005. The new emergency department will include space that can be developed later to serve as many as 60,000 patients. Hospital managers attribute the higher emergency use to the growing numbers of people who have no health insurance and those who cannot afford to see a doctor. Hospitals are required by law to treat anyone who comes to an emergency room. Reach reporter Bill Kettler at 776-4492, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Prime Times