The new Webster Health Center is now 75 percent complete and on track to open in the fall, says Jon Culver, Project Superintendent of Market and Johnson of Eau Claire, the general contracting firm managing the Webster construction. The firm builds many schools, clinics and hospitals in the area.
The 25,000 square foot Webster facility is part of the St. Croix Regional Medical Center (SCRMC) which has its main clinic and hospital in St. Croix Falls. The new health center occupies the former site of the old Webster High School, which was razed in 2016 to make room for the new clinic.
Groundbreaking occurred in October 2017. Ground preparation and footing placement continued into late November. Following the holiday break, crews completed the steel structure and added the exterior walls. During February and March, the roof was completed and the work began indoors to build the interior walls.
View from the south side of Webster Health Center, which awaits curb, gutter and blacktop. This side holds waiting rooms, exam rooms, a large multi-purpose room and public parking and entrance.
In early spring, the floors were poured, followed by interior framing. In April and May, the brick wall exterior was added and all windows were installed. Overhead services and ceilings will be added in June and July, followed by carpeting, fixtures and furniture.
Culver said work continues inside on plumbing, heating and cooling systems, and installing the fire suppression system. Drywall work is about 90 percent complete. Outdoors, the prep work is nearly done in the north and south parking lots for curb and gutter installation. Blacktopping on the parking lots will happen in June or July.
Born in Grantsburg and raised in Webster, Project Superintendent Jon Culver followed his father into carpentry. In September he will note his 30th year in the business. He and his wife and family live near Webster.
Health and wellness focus
The facility will focus on examination and diagnosis, and minor treatments that can be done locally. It has no hospital beds.
The south end of the building will feature a 38 x 62’ wellness area for exercise and other large group gatherings.
Six dental exam rooms may be used by one or more dentists. The facility also has an X-ray room and two procedure rooms, 19 exam rooms and rooms earmarked to Tel-Med and triage services.
Offices with windows along the west side of the building are for providers including doctors, specialists, maybe a nurse practitioner and nursing staff.
North side for employees
The building’s north side is established for employees, including an employee entrance, staff break room, and training room.
Along the west wall is a multi-purpose room for staff training. Nothing has been finalized, but they hope WITC will offer training programs for nurses and/or Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA).
The north side of the Webster Health Center gets ready for blacktopping in June. Employees will enter from the north side. That area will house training and classroom space, cafeteria and other employee services.
Patients enter on the east side
The main patient entrance is the east side has the lobby and waiting rooms, with a cul-de-sac as a patients’ drop-off zone. Parking for patients will be in the south side patient parking lot.
Getting WHS students involved
Early in the construction phase, Superintendent Jon Culver reached out to Webster High School to invite the shop classes led by Roy Ward to come to visit the building site for a talk and tour.
Later, Culver and WHS Shop Teacher Roy Ward teamed up to bring the high school welding class to the facility. Culver said, “We had all the welding class kids up on the roof and introduced them to the ironworkers. The workers talked to the students for a bit and then they let the kids put on the welding hoods and help weld the deck down to the structure.”
In mid-April, Culver and his team led the students and instructors on a building tour so they could see the stages of construction.
Jon Culver of Webster is Project Superintendent for general contractor Market and Johnson of Eau Claire.
Project Superintendent is a native son
Jon Culver was born at the Grantsburg hospital and spent his pre-teen years in Webster school before moving with his family to the Twin Cities. After graduating there, he followed his father’s footsteps into the carpentry craft, joining the union apprenticeship program after high school.
This fall, Culver will note 30 years in the construction business. “Market and Johnson and I are proud to be part of this project. The building and the people who work here are going to be a great asset to Webster for many decades to come,” he said.
Last Update: Jun 04, 2018 9:54 am CDT
