Major Milestone Reached at Maine Hospital

PITTSFIELD, Maine — Sebasticook Valley Health Hospital reached a major milestone after finishing a nearly $10 million expansion, which included the completion of steel infrastructure in the new inpatient wing.

Mike Peterson, the hospital’s chief administrative officer, said the plan is for the building’s interior will be fully enclosed by the end of December.

The $9.5 million project is also helping the employment situation for many area workers.
“Of the 22 subcontractors working on this for us, 19 come from Maine and a lot of those come from central Maine,” Peterson said.

Chad Bailey, the project manager at Standard Waterproofing, said the waterproofing job is worth nearly $50,000—enough to keep four or five workers, about 25 percent of the company’s workforce, employed.

“This is hitting us during the wintertime, which is great,” he said. “Every small job that we get helps.”

Ryan Loubier, project manager for Zimba company, said the project also means a great deal to his company.

“For us to be able to work locally and keep a large crew going through the winter; it’s a big thing for us. This could keep 15 to 20 guys working there just on that job. I’ve got a lot of employees in the central Maine area. I’ve got guys traveling only 10 or 15 minutes to work for this job, instead of two hours.”

Both Bailey and Loubier added that the current year has brought more business than last year and that they see the trend continuing.

Work on this project will continue for another 12 months or so. Currently underway is phase one — the construction of the new wing — which is slated to house patients by next June. Phase two, scheduled for next spring, will involving punching a hole in the exterior wall of the inpatient area, while phase three will be the renovation of the existing inpatient facilities that will continue into next November.

Peterson said with much of the major purchasing decisions already made, planners are deciding on final details such as television models, furniture fabric and wastebasket colors. In March, before the room designs are finalized, a mockup of a patient room will be constructed out of Styrofoam so details can be tinkered with in model form before they are all set.