(Photo by Shelby Herbert/KFSK)
Petersburg’s hospital is deteriorating and state funding for a replacement facility is just out of reach, so hospital administrators are turning to federal lawmakers for aid. On August 10, they showed U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola around the medical center in hopes of securing her support for the project.
At first blush, Petersburg Medical Center’s emergency wing looks like a tight ship.
Rep. Peltola remarked on the cleanliness and the artwork that hangs from the walls. A quilt made out of old portraits bound together with red lines makes the representative pause and ask Chief Nursing Officer Jennifer Bryner what it means.
Bryner told her that it depicts all the people who have lived near Petersburg’s waterfront during World War II, and that he red lines that tie them together represent their relationships — like bloodlines.
But deep in the bowels of the facility, the picture gets darker. Hospital administrator Phil Hofstetter leads the group down a couple flights of stairs. He pointed out dated pieces of the building, like a cable-drawn elevator. He says it’s actually the 23rd elevator to be installed in Alaska, adding that it might even be the oldest operational elevator in the state.
The hospital’s electrical system was built to support older components like this. Hofstetter says he’s afraid newer medical equipment could strain that system.
“We have an updated CT scan and X-ray imaging… We can only load so much on our electrical [system],” said Hofstetter.
That’s just the start of it. Signs of decay are even more apparent in places like the faintly-lit boiler room, where the building’s arteries grumble and hiss.
Wolf Brooks, the hospital’s maintenance manager, takes out a flashlight and points the beam of light at a place where an old septic line runs just below a layer of concrete. He says the encased pipe would be incredibly difficult to reach it if it breaks down.
“You would need to jackhammer out this entire concrete foundation to replace that,” said Brooks. “And, obviously, when you do that, you cannot have people upstairs, and you can’t have a functioning hospital. And that’s terrifying.“
Other issues with the building are even harder to see than those cement-encased septic pipes. About a decade ago, an assessment revealed that, by almost all major infrastructural and architectural standards, the building is falling out of code.
The new facility is underway, but the main building isn’t fully funded. The project didn’t make it onto the state capital budget this year. At the end of the latest legislative session, House Finance Committee Chair Bert Stedman said he disagreed with the hospital administration’s phased funding approach, and that the project does not have his support.
But to some residents, Petersburg Medical Center is more than just the sum of its crumbling parts. Assembly member Bob Lynn told Peltola that it’s something of a community nexus.
“There’s an empathy here that I haven’t seen in other communities,” said Lynn. “And trying to take care of our community — and growing it. It really does make a difference.”
A few of the attendees spoke about how the medical center’s wellness services expand far beyond its walls — from taking residents of the long term care unit out to join in community events, to helping the school district secure a counselor.
Katie Holmlund is the medical center’s Youth Program Coordinator and the vice president of the local school board. She told Peltola about her work to connect Petersburg students with counseling services.
“That partnership we have to be providing those behavioral health services to students is hugely impactful,” said Holmlund. “Because it’s really hard [for the school district] to find quality counselors — like, there’s a nationwide shortage, and so the services that they are providing in-house are already spread so thin.”
The whole tour lasted just about an hour. Ultimately, about ten people from across the community showed up to tell Peltola why the medical center is so important to them.
The representative says it’s made her list of capital improvement projects to keep an eye on for federal funds.
“I’m excited about leaning in and doing what I can do at the congressional level to help the community of Petersburg get their new medical center and realize that dream,” said Peltola.
In the meantime, hospital administrator Phil Hofstetter says he will continue advocating for the new facility as the community’s number one federal and state priority for the next fiscal year.
(Photo by Shelby Herbert/KFSK)
