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South parking lot closes March 20 to accommodate construction

(March 7, 2006) – Salina Regional Health Center announced today the official closing date of the hospital’s south parking lot will be March 20 in order to accommodate construction of the new six-story patient bed tower.

Construction crews are currently in the process of developing a new, temporary main entrance along Santa Fe Avenue that will provide a drop-off point for scheduled patients and visitors. Work on a separate temporary entrance for emergency patients off of Eighth Street is also underway.

Construction crews and hospital staff will begin steps to transition the south parking lot closure over the weekend, March 18-19. However, the south parking lot will remain available for patient and family parking through the weekend.

Parking attendants will begin staffing the Santa Fe drop-off point on March 20 to offer direction assistance and will initiate a complimentary valet parking service at this location. The valet services will be offered Monday through Friday 5:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday to accommodate peak hospital traffic times. New parking will also be opened for emergency patients off of Eighth Street on March 20.    

Use of the complimentary valet parking service and greater utilization of Salina Regional’s parking garage, which is always free, should accommodate public parking spaces lost to construction,” said Jack Hinnenkamp, Salina Regional’s vice-president of facilities management. “The use of parking attendants and a second security officer will also help direct parking around the facility as necessary.”

Signage to help direct hospital traffic will also be erected along Santa Fe Avenue and Eighth Street in the coming days. A tentative completion date for the patient tower is set for the spring of 2008, which will be followed by another year of renovations to the existing Santa Fe facility.