Graham Construction & Management Inc., of Spokane, has won a $9.3 million contract for an expansion and renovation of the Columbia Basin Hospital, in Ephrata, Wash.

Doug Hammond, a Spokane-based Graham Construction business development manager, says Graham is scheduled to begin work on the project this week and to complete the project in phases over a two-year period.

NAC|Architecture, also of Spokane, designed the addition and remodel.

The project includes building about 11,800 square feet of new space and updating about 53,000 square feet of space at the hospital. Including equipment, furnishings, and other expenses, the estimated total cost of the project is $13 million.

In the addition, Graham is scheduled to build 25 new patient rooms that will replace the hospital's 25 existing rooms. The current patient-room space will be remodeled to house a lab, a pharmacy, and offices.

The work also will include an expansion and remodel of a physical therapy department. Other improvements are to include building a new central entryway, reception area, and waiting area for all of the hospital's services, says John Eckert, a senior associate at NAC|Architecture.

Graham also will renovate a long-term care facility that's adjacent to and operated by the hospital and upgrade space to relocate the hospital's medical records department for a new electronic record-keeping system.

The overall footprint of the hospital, including some spaces that aren't being renovated, will be about 78,600 square feet when the project is completed. The areas that aren't part of the project include the hospital's emergency department, a medical clinic, and an assisted-living facility that is attached to the hospital, Eckert says.

Located at 200 Nat Washington Way in Ephrata, Columbia Basin Hospital was constructed in 1957 and has been expanded over the years, he adds.

The hospital is a critical-access facility, which is a designation applied to hospitals that provide care in rural areas. Ephrata is located 30 miles northwest of Moses Lake.

Hospital district voters earlier this year approved a $13 million construction bond to fund the project.