By OLIVER GOOD

Staff writer

If all goes according to plan, St. Luke Clinic’s new addition will be complete by the end of July, and Living Center updates could begin as early as late fall, according to hospital officials.

The clinic’s 1,000-square-foot addition includes more treatment rooms and office space, marketing director Roger Schroeder said.

“The addition will allow for quicker service by giving our providers rooms with which to work,” he said. “The exterior work is done, and they are hanging doors right now. Allowing for the Fourth of July, it should be in operation sometime in mid-July.”

The primary focus now has become raising money to commence with the Living Center renovations, project campaign director Mike Norris said.

“We’re at $724,698 right now, and our goal is $1.5 million; the clinic was about $300,000 of that, and the Living Center is $1.2 million of that,” Norris said. “From here on we’re focused on the Living Center. We would like to meet that goal by the end of the year. ”

In addition to cosmetic details in rooms, primary goals for the Living Center continue to be updating its heating, ventilating, and air conditioning system and renovating the entrance and dining areas, Schroeder said.

Office space and the primary dining area will be at the entrance, which will have a homier feel, he said.

“We have 32 permanent residents who get top notch care here,” Norris said. “We want them to be comfortable.”

Weather permitting, construction could begin anywhere from late fall to the end of December, Schroeder said.

Norris noted that the campaign had applied for a grant for energy efficient windows, too.

Some patrons have expressed concern about whether the center’s gazebo would remain. Schroeder said it would stay on site but be slid north.

“I think we all feel like it’s time for things to happen,” Norris said. “But they understand that we don’t want to hurry things too much so that we can get them done right.”

Schroeder and Norris both expressed gratitude for donations the campaign has received thus far, noting several larger donations and the value of smaller contributions.

“We’ve had people donate anywhere from $5 to $155,000 at a time, and every little bit truly helps,” Norris said. “The size of the donation doesn’t matter. We appreciate it all. We literally could not do this project without the support of the community.”

In addition to monetary donations, the campaign also accepts real estate, livestock, and grain donations as well as items to auction at future benefits, he said.

Campaign officials will make a presentation about the project July 26 at Marion Senior Center. Norris said informative luncheons on the project also would be at the end of July at the hospital.

Lab accredited

Sleep studies offered by St. Luke Hospital for two years is now accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Health Care.

Technicians come from a sleep study contractor, Rural Sleep, near Branson, Missouri, about once a month to monitor patients while sleeping in regular patient rooms.