QUINCY — Consultants and officials at Quincy Valley Medical Center are starting to establish a timeline for the construction of the new Quincy hospital. Joe Kunkel, the consultant working on the project, estimated the preparation, planning and design process would last about a year.

“Our goal right now is that we should be turning dirt next summer, or this time next year,” Kunkel said during the regular meeting of the QVMC board Monday.

Hospital district voters approved a construction bond proposal for a new hospital in August, authorizing up to $55 million for the project. Hospital officials chose Trinity: NAC, Spokane, in July as the project architects.

Kunkel said hospital officials will start the process of applying for permission from the state to hire a general contractor, and hope to be able to solicit proposals from contractors within the next two months.

“They join us during the design process, which is really important for us in terms of cost estimating during design in terms of constructability and a number of things,” Kunkel said.

Hospital officials also will be looking for a company to advise them when buying medical equipment and supplies for the new facility, he said.

Hospital officials will be making site visits to other facilities in Chelan, Pendleton, Oregon and the Tri-Cities, a process Kunkel said he has found helpful.

“You always learn something,” he said. “Sometimes it’s ‘we should be thinking about doing that,’ or it’s “there’s no way we should be doing that.’”

There’s been recent construction in all three locations, Kunkel said, and looking at them can provide ideas on recent design innovations and ways to improve the hospital for patients and staff.

It’s important to know what QVMC needs, and what it can afford, Kunkel said.

“Our interest is what the data is telling us that we should be able to support,” he said.

That would include design details like the number of exam rooms, the size of the emergency room and where and how Sageview Clinic will fit into the new facility.

Chief Executive Officer Glenda Bishop said hospital staff has begun the job of sorting through records and equipment that’s no longer used. Hospital staff has cleared out two buildings on the hospital site. Both were used in part to store records and old equipment.

Bishop said General Services Director Newton Moats and his staff are almost done cleaning them out.

“They addressed that whole building with order and efficiency that just blows my mind,” Bishop said.

Cheryl Schweizer may be reached at [email protected].