Next phase of Medical Clinic expansion set to begin soon

Details

Published on Thursday, March 15, 2018

Photo by Eoin Devereux The 1,920 sq ft expansion of the Beautiful Plains Medical Clinic will be built on the northeast corner of the existing facility. It will include a ground and basement level.

Eoin Devereux
Neepawa Banner & Press

The tender process has begun for the expansion of the Beautiful Plains Medical Clinic in Neepawa. On Friday, Mar. 9, the Neepawa Area Development Corporation (NADCO) held an on-site meeting with general contractors.

A paper copy and pdf document of the drawings for the proposed expansion were distributed to the interested parties that were present. In total, five companies were on hand, indicating their desire to bid on the project. Only contractors that physically attended the site meeting will have the opportunity to tender.
After the drawings were distributed, NADCO chairperson Murray Parrott spoke with the attending builders about the blueprints and desired schedule for the work to begin. After receiving that information, the general contractors then shared their thoughts on the details that had been provided. They offered a few suggestions to ensure the pre-planning and build would move ahead in a way that would meet the required building parameters.

After the meeting concluded, Parrott told the Banner & Press that NADCO is very pleased with the response and feedback they had received. He noted that dialogue will help ensure they go into the building phase in the best possible position.
“These professionals were able, through their questions, to offer some valuable insight and patch up a set of plans that have a few missing elements. So now, when we do move forward with the final tender, we’ll have it exactly as it should be,” Parrott said. “It’s very easy to build something brand new from scratch. An addition like this, however, can be difficult and can create some challenges. This session with the local contractors, with them going over the plans and guiding us is invaluable.”

Parrott added that the next step will see some addendums added to the plans and then sent out to the general contractors in a prompt manner. That will ensure the builders have time to analyze the details and potentially submit a tender. The deadline for the submissions is scheduled for 12:00 p.m., Friday, Apr. 6. Parrott estimates that the NADCO board will make the final decision on who will be chosen to do the work quickly.
“[NADCO] has a meeting that afternoon and that’s when we’ll deal with it. Our intention is to go over the tender packages and come up with a decision as soon as possible, so that the contractor who is awarded the tender can then accept it and start their process. Before they can even dig a hole in the ground, they have to do their locates, which can take up to two weeks,” stated Parrott. “In terms of a schedule, about a six month build is a reasonable expectation. The important part of this process, though, is getting it right. That’s priority one.”

The proposed expansion is for a 1,920 sq. ft addition to the existing building. Once completed, it will house five new examination rooms, a sound proof office space, expanded storage area for medical supplies and two new basement suites, able to house two additional med students. 
This will be the third major expansion to the clinic since NADCO purchased the clinic back in 2008. The organization consists of a partnership between the Town of Neepawa and Rural Municipalities of Rosedale, Glenella-Lansdowne and North Cypress-Langford.  The clinic itself is run by the Beautiful Plains Medical Clinic committee, which consists of councillors and community members. Currently, there are seven doctors operating practices within the facility, with one currently on maternity leave. The expansion will allow for additional doctors to establish practices within the building.