Deaconess and Valley hospitals are planning major operating-room reconfiguration and upgrade projects totaling $14 million in value, says William Gilbert, Deaconess's CEO.

Deaconess Hospital, at 800 W. Fifth, on Spokane's lower South Hill, will spend $10 million in a project that will include reconstructing 13 operating rooms, Gilbert says, adding that Valley Hospital, at 12606 E. Mission, in Spokane Valley, will invest $4 million in a similar project that will involve six operating rooms.

Skiles Group Inc., of Dallas, is the contractor on the projects, and Arlington, Texas-based architectural firm Ascension Group Inc. designed them. Structural Design Group, of Nashville, Tenn., is the structural engineer.

Gilbert says most major trade subcontractors will be hired locally, and work is scheduled to begin June 15.

The Deaconess project will be completed in eight stages over 10 months, while the Valley Hospital project will be completed in about six months, says Greg Repetti, chief operating officer at Deaconess.

The Deaconess project will involve up to two operating rooms at one time, Repetti says. "We don't anticipate problems as it relates to operating room availability," he says.

The project, however, will pose some logistical challenges as the hospitals continue to schedule surgical procedures during the construction period, Repetti says.

"We've got multiple planning teams working to get us to the point that it will disrupt us as little as possible and maintain the sterile environment we need to perform surgeries," he says.

One of the operating rooms will occupy 500 square feet of space in the Deaconess Health & Education Center, which is west of the hospital. The rest of the project will involve renovating 15,900 square feet of floor space, including reconstructing and equipping 12 operating rooms on the fourth floor of the hospital.

The sterile processing department, which currently is located in the hospital's main building, will be relocated next to the remodeled fourth-floor operating rooms.

The project will include installing new equipment valued at $2 million, such as sterilizers, high-definition monitors, lighting, and equipment booms.

When the Deaconess project is completed, the hospital will have 18 operating rooms, three of which already have been updated, Repetti says. Two smaller operating rooms won't be involved in the project, he says.

Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems Inc. bought the hospitals and other assets of the former nonprofit Empire Health Services in 2008. CHS later acquired Rockwood Clinic PS, a longtime Spokane-based multispecialty practice. It operates its Spokane-area holdings as an integrated unit called Rockwood Health System.