Steel placement on the fourth and fifth stories of the new patient tower continues after a brief interruption in January due to a steel fabrication delay. This work, originally planned to be finished this month, should wrap up in March. The delay will not impact the timeline for the overall project. Starting in mid-January, scaffolding rose to enable exterior framing, which began Feb. 11. This is the first step in creating the building’s “skin.” Inside, rough framing of patient rooms, and piping work, continues.  

Thank you to Northstate Anesthesiology Partners, a group of local physicians who provide anesthesiology care at Enloe Medical Center, for their recent commitment of $500,000 to the Enloe Century Project expansion.

“Northstate Anesthesiology Partners is a group of physicians truly committed to our community. Enloe greatly appreciates their support of our expansion,” states Robert Adams, Vice President of the Enloe Foundation.

Northstate Anesthesiology Partners (NAP) also recently gave a $10,000 gift as a sponsor of Enloe’s 23rd Annual Golf Tournament, which benefits the Century Project and the Enloe Golf Nursing Scholarship. Michael Pryomski, DO, President of NAP, said the donations are expressions of the group’s support of Enloe Medical Center and the local community. “We look forward to practicing in the new surgery center that’s part of the expansion currently under construction,” says Dr. Pryomski.

The single-story surgery center will have its own street entrance, reception area and lounge that will double the existing surgical suites. It will provide dedicated heart, neurological and orthopedic operating rooms and two private surgery consultation rooms for physicians to meet with patients and families. The Century Project, which expands Enloe’s Esplanade campus, also includes a five-story patient tower; single-story emergency center; parking structure, which is now open; and an adjacent park.

Since NAP formed in March 2007, the physician group has focused on providing high-quality anesthesia services and recruiting permanent anesthesiologists to Chico. NAP now has a full complement of 14 anesthesiologists who provide services at Enloe Medical Center’s Esplanade campus and at the outpatient center on Bruce Road. Anesthesiologists optimize operating conditions to help allow for safe and effective surgery.

“We have anesthesiologists who have been at Enloe for years and those from other parts of the country who bring new perspectives and expertise in different facets of anesthesiology,” says Michael Hieb, MD, Vice Chair of the Anesthesiology Department, who was one of the early recruits and served as NAP’s first president. “Now that we have met many of our clinical goals, we’re reaching out to support community charities and services.”

We are ready for another celebration to mark a major milestone for the Century Project expansion! Please save Wednesday, Oct. 29 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. for our beam signing special event to celebrate the topping off of the new patient tower. A steel beam will be displayed for attendees to sign and will ultimately be part of the new tower. We will recognize key contributors of the Century Project and kick off the Enloe Foundation’s New Beginning Campaign, which aims to raise $15 million for the Century Project, Planetree and scholarships. The next issue of this newsletter will have further details.

We’ve hit a major milestone with our Century Project expansion. The parking structure will open for employees, physicians and volunteers on Friday Aug. 29 at 4 a.m. The four-level, three-story structure will provide 742 off-street parking spots, which we expect will free up much needed space for patients and visitors. Many employees have been parking at off-site lots and shuttling in - whew! It will be great to be able to park closer to the medical center.

On the patient tower front, we’ve worked our way to the third floor, with work beginning on the walls and word forms. That construction site is one busy place with lots of construction traffic.

We’re also hard at work on a Health Learning Center, right on the Esplanade - for the public to get helpful, reliable information about health care and health conditions.

More updates soon…