$5.5 million NorthBay Medical Center lab project begins construction

$5.5 million NorthBay Medical Center lab project begins construction

While other hospitals are curtailing or stopping construction projects, work has begun on a long-awaited, much-needed new $5.5 million laboratory building at NorthBay Medical Center in Fairfield.

NorthBay Healthcare received the last of the necessary state and city permits to build a 4,000-square-foot facility on the front side of the hospital near the ambulance entrance to the Emergency Department. It replaces a 1,797-square-foot lab in use since the hospital opened.

The new lab is a necessity, says Bridgit Strachan, vice president of quality and professional/support services. “Our people in the lab have done awesome work in some very crowded, outdated conditions. I’m sure this will increase productivity and ensure we maintain our high standards.”

More space is imperative for the hospital to maintain its current level of service and to add new programs, such as the NorthBay Heart & Vascular Center, which should launch in April, explained Strachan.

Groundbreaking is scheduled for Feb. 5, with construction taking a year. The laboratory is expected to be operating by January 2010.