Forde Shorts

Big kitchen – Ooohs issued forth from Tehachapi Hospital staffers at the Tehachapi Valley Healthcare District board of directors meeting Aug. 16 when Lisa Polansky, senior project manager for SHP Project Development, showed images of the spacious kitchen in the Replacement Tehachapi Acute Care Hospital. The staffers are familiar with the cramped conditions at the existing hospital, where every inch of space is utilized, and offices and services have spilled out into mobile units and old houses nearby. The galley-like existing kitchen is spotless and functional but small. The new kitchen is just getting its equipment. "It's as big as the whole back wing of the [existing] hospital," district CEO Eugene Suksi quipped. While Adventist Health awaits approval of its license that will complete the affiliation with the healthcare district, the district employees remain employed by the district. "We are waiting for the state and the federal government to bless us with a piece of paper," board president Mike Nixon said. CFO Chet Beadle reported that the district closed the fiscal year in June with $2.8 million in the black for the 12 months. The district and Adventist are combining forces to finish construction. "I'm still funding things up to $10,000 to keep the small contractors happy," Beadle said. "Adventists pays the big ones...It's nice they are working with us." Under the voter-approved affiliation agreement, Adventist will lease and manage all the district properties for 30 years for payment to the district of $27 million. The funds will be paid pre-lease and will be used to complete construction of the hospital. It appears that Adventist will not utilize many of the older buildings and will turn them back to the district. In the meantime, the district has to move out of its offices. The board agreed at its Aug. 16 meeting, held at the Tehachapi Area Association of Realtors, to authorize Suksi to negotiate a lease for office space at 305 S. Robinson St., across the street from the Tehachapi Unified School District offices. The building is an upscale remodel of an old house and adds a touch of class to downtown Tehachapi. It is owned by Ryan Beauchamp and Mike Hensler of Creative Accents custom rug makers. Their factory is in California City; half the building (303 S. Robinson) is their new corporate headquarters.