Following careful considerations of available funds and overall campus needs, Trigg County Hospital’s Board of Trustees unanimously approved the tackling of a long project list Thursday night — all of which should, in theory, improve the quality of life for patients and staff alike.
Through rough estimates, President & CEO John Sumner laid out the following blueprint for the next two years, which now includes the seeking of bids, and/or the completing of ongoing work with:
+ A massive kitchen and pipe repair in the main hospital building for no less than $135,000
+ A $75,000 renovation of the former Bostick Building for human resources and filing
+ A $35,000 improvement to the parking lot and ambulance drive lighting
+ The addition of an enlarged and better-lit “Emergency Room” directional sign, valued at roughly $13,500
+ A new 300-kilowatt generator to power most of the main property, valued at $126,000 after some trade-in
+ A Trigg County Primary Care outdoor remodel and indoor refit, costing no less than $350,000
+ A $250,000 50/50 cost-split with the county on an EMS shack renovation
+ And the installation of a new MRI, which will come through a loan serviced at 1% interest
Sumner said all told, minus the MRI, everything would cost a combined $1 million, and that if bids came back rough for any said project, the board could table any actions, and pivot to another need.
The biggest concerns in this moment, he added, are the finished kitchen (which is in progress), a replaced generator, the changes to Primary Care, and an EMS shack makeover.
Tough news has reportedly been received out of Washington, D.C. Sumner said while Trigg County’s ambulance shack grant proposal is still on the table, changing landscapes at the federal level have pushed all earmarks back at least a year — meaning any approval for grant funds for this proposed new construction would come in late 2026, and awarded contracts likely wouldn’t be finished until sometime in 2028.
That, Sumner said, is too long for the EMS staff to wait, and discussions with county officials have led to the reality of a quick fix.
The reasons for some of these specific changes, Sumner added, are many, but include the fact that:
+ the current generator is more than 30 years old
+ the parking lot and emergency lane are believed to be poorly lit
+ Primary Care isn’t efficiently laid out on the inside, and on the outside “still looks like the old Methodist church” it once proudly was
+ a new MRI has long been desired
+ current human resources and filing is allegedly running out of space, and moving it creates more square footage in the main building
+ and the kitchen was virtually unusable in its state
Sumner confirmed “not everything is going to happen at once,” and other future projects for this year and beyond could be the preparation of Suites A & B of Medical Arts for dermatology, the addition of a second helipad, painting the outside front of the main hospital, new flooring for the business office, and more parking spots for Medical Arts.
In other hospital news:
— Officials are welcoming another nurse practitioner into the fold in APRN Jamie Slagle, who Sumner said will work four 10-hour shifts in Suites A & B of Medical Arts, while collaborating with Dermatologist Tanner Parrent of Hopkinsville. Moving to Clarksville from Chattanooga, Sumner added she will also make referrals to ENT, podiatry and general surgery, but dermatology is her specialty.
