Hospital move-in date scheduled for Jan. 30

St. John’s Lutheran Hospital will become Cabinet Peaks Medical Center with the move on Jan. 30 — two months ahead of schedule — and Plant Operations Manager Tony Rebo couldn’t be happier.

“The date chosen is going to work well, as it will allow us plenty of time to work all the bugs out and to familiarize ourselves with the building,”  Rebo said. “We are still finishing up two months early as we had an original completion date of April 2014.”

With the hospital’s move into the new 77,000 square-foot facility, the primary healthcare facility in Lincoln County will be Cabinet Peaks Medical Center.

“After many long and thoughtful discussions with our contractor, we have selected Jan. 30 as the hospital move date,” said CEO Bruce Whitfield. “We had initially envisioned moving into the hospital prior to Christmas, but decided that the stress and strain on our staff would be too great during the holiday season to accommodate such a move.  The holidays are stressful enough.”  

In order to make the move as seamless as possible, the hospital is asking the staff to curb vacation requests for a few weeks prior to and following the official move date.  

As of Aug. 22, those restrictions have officially been lifted for the holiday season, allowing SJLH staff to plan their holidays without any abnormal limitations from their employer.

“The new hospital project is living up to all expectations, and the new move date is still several months ahead of schedule,” Whitfield said. “Our contractor, Swank, has done a great job, and we are thrilled to be able to have the opportunity to move in to Cabinet Peaks Medical Center early.”

Kate Stephens, marketing manager at the hospital, is looking forward to offering the public a glimpse of the facility before the patients move in.  

“St. John’s is buzzing with excitement right now.  We have great things planned for both our hospital staff and the public leading up to our official move in date,” she said.