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Hospital Board Approves Architecture, Engineering Designs for Hospitals, Keating Clinic and Kimelman Institute

The Gov. Juan F. Luis Hospital on St. Croix; the Charlotte Kimelman Cancer Institute on St. Thomas; and the Myrah Keating Smith Health Center on St. John are all slated to be repaired or rebuilt. (Submitted photo)

On Tuesday, the Territorial Hospital Board approved the architecture and engineering designs for the territory’s primary health care facilities: Gov. Juan Luis Hospital on St. Croix; Schneider Regional Medical Center and Charlotte Kimelman Cancer Institute on St. Thomas; and Myrah Keating Smith Clinic on St. John.

The board voted unanimously to award design contracts to three different firms for the four projects. The design phase for these four projects could take anywhere from six to 18 months, according to Schneider Hospital’s Vice President of Facilities Management Darryl Smalls, who was named by the board to oversee the process.

The board approved:

  • $12,948,272 for Flad & Associates to design Luis hospital
  • $5,870,000 for EYP Architects to design Schneider hospital
  • $936,000 for EYP Architects and Engineers to design the Charlotte Kimelman Cancer Institute
  • $1,529,770 for SmithGroup to design the Myrah Keating Smith Clinic

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is covering 90 percent of the cost, with a 10 percent local match that will be paid for with Community Development Block Grant funds provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as a result of the 2017 hurricanes.

“The unanimous vote by the Territorial Board of the Hospitals in conjunction with the direct collaboration with the executive branch of the Government of the Virgin Islands exemplifies the commitment to the citizens of this territory that health care is paramount,” Vice President Smalls said. “As the person designated to lead this effort, it is indeed an honor and a privilege. I pledge my commitment to the citizens of this territory that my team and I will be fiscally responsible in designing and constructing resilient, state-of-the-art hospitals and medical facilities which will serve our community for many years to come.”

According to Juan Luis interim Chief Executive Officer Dyma Williams, the Juan Luis Project Team began collaborating in October 2019 with health care architectural and engineering experts to draft a technically sound RFP for the design of the new hospital, inclusive of health care innovations and industry standards.

“We look forward to working with Flad and culturally competent local talent to engage our community and move the health care needs of the community forward, as we ‘Rebuild Today for a Healthier Tomorrow,’” she said.

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