craigdailypress.com

The Committee for a New Hospital, a group of residents campaigning on behalf of The Memorial Hospital's November tax initiative, will launch its campaign this week.

Local voters can expect to see committee members going door to door and distributing information regarding the hospital's 3-mill total tax proposal.

Money raised by an increased mill levy would help pay for the construction of an 84,475-square-foot facility with an estimated price tag of $42.6 million.

The door-to-door visits are a primer for three public forums scheduled in the next 15 days. The campaign committee is seeking to get information into voters' hands before the public forums, members said.

The forums will last 30 minutes each and include a presentation about the proposal and a question and answer session. Anyone from the community is welcome to attend, committee members said.

The first two forums are scheduled for noon and 6 p.m. Oct. 10 at the Craig Fire Station. The third forum will be at 6 p.m. Oct. 17, also at the fire station.

Committee members will stay to answer further questions from voters, if all questions aren't answered in the allotted time.

If approved by voters, the new hospital would be built on 15 acres west of Shadow Mountain Village. It is the same area where Colorado Northwestern Community College officials hope to build a new Craig campus.

The new hospital would include, among other features, 25 acute beds, 15 medical/surgery rooms, a 10-room emergency department, four postpartum/gynecology rooms, three operating rooms, two labor/delivery rooms and expanded laboratory, diagnostic and imaging services.

Joshua Roberts can be reached at 824-7031, ext. 210, or jroberts@craigdailypress.com.