U.S. Department of Agriculture Under Secretary for Rural Development Lisa Mensah and State USDA Director Bobby Lewis will visit Boone Memorial Hospital today, Thursday, April 16, to review construction progress on Boone Memorial Hospital’s new $37 million hospital project. USDA committed a $31.8 million loan to Boone Memorial to enable construction of the hospital’s new facility. At a 1:30 pm press conference to be held at the hospital, Under Secretary Mensah also will be making a special announcement that will further impact health care in Boone County and the region.
Boone Memorial Hospital CEO Virgil Underwood said “We welcome the Under Secretary and are honored by her and the State Director’s plans to visit the hospital to review our construction project’s progress. USDA has been an outstanding partner towards moving our new hospital project to the construction phase. Quite frankly, without USDA’s support through its favorable loan rate and terms for repayments the dream of replacing our aged hospital facility might not have ever been possible. The USDA State Office has been of tremendous assistance in helping our efforts to move our hospital project forward.”
Boone Memorial Hospital closed its $31.8 million loan with USDA on July 22, 2014. Construction started in late July, 2014 within a few days following the closing of the loan. Construction has proceeded through the months following to the point that foundations are completed on approximately 95% of the building; interior masonry walls are nearing completion; structural steel has been set on half of the building; and the roof deck has been set on 60% of the single story portion of the project. Weather permitting, the pouring of the floor on part of the single story portion of the project is scheduled to begin this week.
Boone Memorial’s current hospital facility was opened in 1964 as a county owned facility. It was converted to a 501 (c) (3) Non Profit Hospital in the Spring of 2013 to help position the hospital for the development of the new hospital facility. It is anticipated the new hospital facility will be open for operation in the Summer of 2016.
