HMC/CAH, owner of Hillsboro Community Hospital, has cleared two hurdles that have delayed the start of construction on its new hospital facility east of town.
The first hurdle was notification, dated Oct. 19, that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services had given its preliminary approval to relocate the hospital from 701 S. Main to 103 Industrial Road.
With that development, USDA notified Mayor Delores Dalke today (Oct. 20), that the project has now received its official ?permission to proceed.? The designation from USDA means HMC/CAH can begin the legal documents for the loan, which normally take three to four weeks to process.
A spokesman for HMC/CAH, in an e-mail to Mayor Delores Dalke, said of the news: ?As far as (we) know this is one of the final steps, but it does seem like we keep having hurdles thrown up. However, with this good news of ?permission to proceed? and our attestation from CMS, we are getting closer.?
The spokesperson declined to estimate when construction might begin. He said before HMC/CAH can solicit construction bids, the company has to finalize the architectural plans, which he estimated to be 95 percent complete.
?This is exciting news,? Dalke said at the Oct. 20 meeting of the Hillsboro City Council.
