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By MICHELLE MCLEAN

Anticipation is in the air at Hillsboro Medical Center.

The completion of a $12.5 million improvement project is one the minds of staff and residents alike.

“It’s exciting beyond words,” said HMC administrator Patricia Dirk.

Passers-by on busy Caledonia Avenue have witnessed major changes since the formal groundbreaking 11 months ago. 

Blueprints call for a new two-story 36-bed nursing home and 16-unit assisted living complex adjacent the hospital and existing nursing home. A July 1 move-in date is highlighted on the HMC calendar of events.

“There’s lots of work to be done between now and then,” admitted construction manager Paul Johnson of Nor-Son, the general contractor.

“It will be a sprint to the end,” he added.

Once the new space is ready for occupancy, renovation of the hospital will begin, first transforming former nursing home rooms into swing bed rooms. Nearly 80 percent of the existing medical center space will be changed or upgraded.

More than three dozen construction workers and tradesmen are on the job site daily, Johnson said. The project is about two months behind schedule — in part due to a shortage of qualified laborers, Johnson pointed. It’s  problem plaguing the construction field in the entire region, he said, but the work is progressing at a good pace.

Work is being completed on the second floor first, he noted. Sheetrock is being hung and is ready for taping, texturing and taping. Work is farthest along on the south end and progresses northward each day.

Meanwhile, other crews are focusing on the mechanical rooms and joining together systems from the old building with the new.

The checklist is monitored by administrator Dirk. Each milestone is celebrated. Check: The elevator is in.

Outside, siding is being installed.

Yardwork will wait for spring.

Angela Kritzberger has spring work of a different kind on her checklist. As director of HMC Foundation, the medical center’s fundraising arm, she’s busy marketing the new facility, especially “Comstock Corner,” the new assisted living complex, the first of its kind in Hillsboro.

A manager for Comstock Corner is expected to be named next week, Kritzberger said.

More than 20 people have expressed an interest in becoming residents of the assisted living facility. Kritzberger and a social worker have assessed the applicants to determine if their needs fit the new facility or are better suited to long-term care or congregate living, such as Kelleher Manor. The two are also finalizing the pricing and service choices available to assisted living residents. The one-bedroom units are expected to carry a base rent of $1,500 with a long list of services available, some included in the rent, others for a fee.

Kritzberger will soon begin a formal promotion of the assisted living option to potential residents, encouraging people “to come home to Hillsboro.”

One advantage of the HMC project is bringing together so many services in one, self-contained campus, Kritzberger pointed out. A hospital, nursing home, assisted living complex and a medical clinic all under one roof offer a unique, convenience for seniors, she noted.

Kritzberger recently reported that the community’s capital campaign to help finance the HMC addition has reached a new milestone — $1.35 million. Pledges, gifts and grants have helped push the campaign closer to its $1.5 million short-term goal.

“It’s very exciting,” Kritzberger said.

A long-range goal of $2 million remains on the agenda for the foundation. The campaign started about 18 months ago.

Just this month, HMC Foundation received a $4,000 grant from Dakota Medical Foundation to support software for Kritzberger’s office and to provide training at HMC. The grant is the third installment in three years from DMF, totaling $12,000.

Another second grant has been provided by Dakota Medical Foundation to help purchase equipment for two bariatric rooms in the nursing home. Bariatric refers to morbidly obese patients who may be non-ambulatory. Specifically, the $10,000 grant will provide funds for one ceiling lift and sling on a track system, equipment that costs about $16,000.

In total, grants toward the improvement project, mostly for equipment, have amounted to about $72,000 to date, Kritzberger estimated.

Kritzberger is planning a grand opening for the new facility sometime in June. Once the party’s over and new residents move in, the focus will shift to remodeling. Extensive remodeling to the hospital and old nursing home — approximately 80 percent of the space — will start later this summer and is expected to take six months to a year to complete.