Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center & Children’s Hospital has begun a $1.3 million remodeling project for a new special pathogens unit there. 

Dr. Joel McCullough, Providence Health Care’s medical director for community health and epidemiology, says the 7,500-square-foot unit will be located in a portion of the second lower level of the east wing, a space that previously was used as overflow for pediatric care. 

Bouten Construction Co., of Spokane, is the contractor for the project, which began earlier this month and is expected to be completed in November.

McCullough says the unit will include 10 rooms, two of which will be considered intensive care units. Work includes new interior finishes, and mechanical and electrical upgrades. 

“The space will be able to be locked down,” says McCullough. “Once it is activated, only those with access will be able to enter. All rooms will be negative pressure, meaning airborne elements will stay inside the rooms rather than being able to escape into the hallways.”

McCullough says the remodel is being funded through a five-year federal grant.

“In response to Ebola cases in the U.S. in 2014 and the West Africa Ebola epidemic, Congress appropriated emergency funding to create a national network of special pathogen treatment centers,” he says. “The approach they decided on was a regional one, designating Sacred Heart as the response center for Region 10.” 

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services designates Region 10 as including Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Alaska. 

McCullough says two other pathogen treatment centers are located in Washington state, but Sacred Heart is the only designated regional one.

The state Department of Health will use the first-year grant totaling $2.4 million to cover the costs of construction and equipment for the new unit at Sacred Heart. Smaller grants will follow in years two through five that will cover continued maintenance of the unit. Altogether, the hospital expects to receive funding of $3 million to $4 million.