Borough wins $3.85M to replace PKIMC chiller

The Kodiak Island Borough is the recipient of a $3,850,279 Alaska Department Health grant to replace aging equipment at Providence Kodiak Island Medical Center. Most of the money will go toward replacing the hospital's chiller, critical air-conditioning equipment. A chiller could be considered the mechanical beating heart of any hospital, and PKIMC's is overdue for a transplant. The hospital chiller cools heat — generating medical equipment like MRI and CT scanners, X-ray machines, sterilizers and surgical lasers. It's a big deal. The existing rooftop chiller only operates at 35% efficiency, which limits some hospital functions. The borough and Providence have been working on replacing the chiller for several years. In 2023, the Borough Assembly approved approximately $188,000 for design work associated with the replacement. The project design called for a modular chiller system that would provide additional capacity and allow individual components to be replaced or expanded in the future. The replacement presents structural and electrical challenges. Because the existing equipment is located on the hospital roof, engineers have had to consider the roof's structural capacity, as well as the weight and vibration associated with new equipment. Moving some or all of the equipment off the roof has been considered as part of the design. However it's done, replacing the chiller involves changing out pumps, a couple expansion tanks, pipe, valves, instrumentation, sensors and controls. The chiller is part of a broader list of aging mechanical infrastructure at the hospital that has required significant capital investment. Other systems identified for replacement or major work include boilers, reverse-osmosis equipment, steam-generation equipment and sterilization equipment. The money comes from the $272 million Alaska Rural Health Transformation Program supported by the U.S. Department of Health and Social Services. It's federal money for projects aimed at improving financial operations, patient access, electronic health records and provider efficiency. The grants were announced Friday by the Alaska Department of Health. In August, Kodiak Community Health Center was awarded $657,688 targeting financial planning, appointment management, electronic exchange of medical information with PKIMC, AI-assisted documentation and information technology support. The Alaska Department of Health announces Alaska Rural Health Transformation Program funding every Friday. Log InKeep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.Now, more than ever, the world needs trustworthy reporting—but good journalism isn't free.Please support us by subscribing or making a contribution. Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos. President Donald Trump said Wednesday in Washington, D.C., that he will travel to Alaska to campaign on behalf of incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, who appears to be facing a close race against Democratic challenger Mary Peltola. The Alaska Department of Revenue announced on Monday that Alaska's K-12 public schools will receive an additional $115 million in state funding this year, prompted by a boost in oil revenues driven by the U.S. war on Iran. On the morning after he became one of four finalists in the race for Alaska's lone U.S. House seat, Libertarian candidate Jim McDermott had to apologize.