The Petersburg Medical Center invited the public to check out its newest building during an open house on July 14. Although the Wellness Education & Resource Center, or WERC building, has been in use since last summer, the event gave community members a chance to tour the now-finished space.
During the open house last week, Petersburg Medical Center CEO Phil Hofstetter spoke with visitors inside one of several conference rooms on the second floor. Behind him, multiple TVs cycled through photos of the building’s construction.
Between the groundbreaking in late 2023 and last year’s soft opening, it took roughly two years to build the facility. The total price tag of the project was $28 million, which included preparing the site for future construction projects. The building was constructed with federal infrastructure funding and appropriations from Sen. Lisa Murkowski.
Hofstetter explained that, as part of that federal funding, the building had to offer public community spaces.
“These conference rooms are all for [the] public to reserve,” he said.
Additionally, the WERC building offers public computer lab spaces and a private telehealth booth. Some insurance companies require telehealth appointments be on a medical campus, so patients can use the space without making a clinic appointment.
The building is also home to the hospital’s Community Wellness Department.
“We actually didn’t have a space in the old building,” said Community Wellness Manager Julie Walker.
Her department was renting an apartment across the street from the old campus to use as an office space before moving into the WERC building last year.
“Moving into this space has really helped us, I think, integrate more into PMC and make people aware that we exist,” Walker said.
Right across from Walker’s office is the MRI suite. The imaging machine is the first in Petersburg, and has started accepting patients.
Radiology Manager Sonja Paul said the MRI had a great reception from the rural island community.
“It’s been really amazing to have the MRI up and ready,” she said. “People are enjoying the space up here and the feel of this building, as well as being able to get some exams done that people have been waiting a long time for.”
Shannon Midkiff was one of 56 community members who toured the building during the open house, and said the MRI was an important addition to Petersburg.
“I’m very glad to know there’s an MRI machine here, because a lot of us have been flying out of town,” she said.
The WERC building also has spaces for Petersburg’s Public Health department, the hospital’s IT, a new morgue, and lots of storage.
For hospital Maintenance Manager Wolf Brooks, the new space is almost too good to be true.
“It’s almost difficult in a way, and I mean that in the best ways possible,” he said, standing in the new garage and workshop. “I don’t want to get this space dirty!”
Brooks is on the frontlines of what he calls “an active state of failure” at the old hospital. He said he’s constantly fixing critical infrastructure at the aging facility, and it feels weird to be in a space that actually works.
“I can say, it’s a night and day difference,” he said.
But, there’s still a long way to go before Brooks can stop worrying about the old building.
Many departments are still in that space, and Hofstetter, the CEO, already has his eyes on the next step of the hospital replacement project.
“It feels really great to be here, but it also feels like I have so much to do next,” Hofstetter said.
Next, the hospital is looking to build a new long term care facility. Right now, the hospital’s long term care residents are housed in the oldest part of the facility. Hoftsetter said the search for funding to construct the next building is ongoing.
In the meantime, hospital staff say the new WERC building makes a big difference.
