New addition to expand hospital's mental health, substance abuse programs

Jan. 08--WICHITA FALLS, Texas -- Construction crews are prepping the ground at the corner of Eighth and Holliday where a new addition to Red River Hospital will be constructed.

Rodney Martin, chief operations officer at Trinity Hughes Construction in Wichita Falls, said they are in a joint venture with Lott Brothers Construction out of Austin, Texas, for the build. He said the project that began on Monday will take about 10 months to build.

The 3 1/2-story, 31,000-square-feet structure will have patient rooms, a gym, offices for staff and more. There will also be an underground parking garage for staff. The exterior of the building will be a combination of stucco, brick and wood panels.

As with many of the builds Trinity Hughes has done in Wichita Falls, they've turned to local talent to do most of the work.

"The majority of the contractors on it are local contractors," he said. "There are a couple of things that there were no local companies to do, so we went outside" of Wichita Falls.

Jack Warburton, CEO of Red River Hospital, said the design of the new facility is impressive and will add more functionality and therapy options for patients. The 22 inpatient rooms will give the hospital the ability to care for a total of 96 inpatients when including the 74 rooms in the existing hospital.

The CEO said he expects to be open not long after construction is complete.

"Construction should wrap up -- if they stick to their schedule -- by about mid-October, and we plan to start using that building in November," Warburton said. "We're not going to let a nice, new spot sit idle for too long."

The new facility also means the hospital will need to hire people. Warburton said they will hire 30 additional employees

According to a media release from the hospital, the new facility will have a price tag of $10.5 million.

___

(c)2015 the Times Record News (Wichita Fallas, Texas)

Visit the Times Record News (Wichita Fallas, Texas) at www.timesrecordnews.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC