SEARHC submits Haines hospital complex plans

Preliminary drawings of the hospital facility included in the SEARHC permit application. (Courtesy/SEARHC)

By Will Steinfeld

Chilkat Valley News

Southeast Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) has submitted building plans to the borough for a proposed hospital and medical facility near Jones Point.

Although the plan is still in preliminary stages, it lays out a number of possible changes to healthcare services in Haines, including the addition of a 24-hour emergency department and a long-term care unit. 

The planned complex also includes space for services currently provided at the existing SEARHC clinic in town, as well as behavioral health, dental care, and physical therapy, which are currently housed at SEARHC’s Second Avenue facility. SEARHC, in the proposal, describes the existing clinic facility as requiring “drastic improvements or complete replacement.”

The plans  also include eight one-story duplexes that will house SEARHC employees. 

In the documents submitted to the borough, SEARHC refers to the hospital as a “critical access hospital” — a federal designation for rural hospitals that meet a specific set of care requirements and in turn receive benefits, including increased Medicare compensation. 

Construction of the housing is planned to start in May of the upcoming year, and construction of medical facilities is planned for a June start, according to SEARHC’s project timeline included in their submission to the borough. 

The size and scope of the facility will require an upgrade to Jones Point Road, which will be the main access point, and an extension of borough water lines. The plan is for SEARHC to pay for those upgrades, borough planning and zoning tech Donna Lambert said. 

The plans will only be finalized after going through a new permitting process. The borough is considering the project under a Planned Unit Development permit, the first time such a permit has been considered by the borough, Lambert said. 

According to borough code, a Planned Unit Development permit allows more flexibility in creating approval conditions for large developments and complexes.

The specifics of the process could be amended, but as it stands now, the complex will go in front of the planning commission for initial approval, borough planner Chen Wu said. That will include review of conditional use permit conditions. It will then go to the borough manager for final approval. 

Outside of the planning commission, a borough team including Chen, Lambert, manager Alekka Fullerton, facilities director Brad Jensen, and water/sewer supervisor Dennis Durr will be negotiating with SEARHC and reviewing plans. 

“The Planned Unit Development (permit) will simplify the process for the developer but also balance that with opportunity for community input,” Wu said. 

Wu also added the borough is consulting with city staff in Wrangell, who used a Planned Unit Development approval process for their newly built SEARHC hospital. 

• This article originally appeared in the Chilkat Valley News.