Big changes possible for Winsted Health Center

BARKHAMSTED — Although the construction of a proposed state-of-the-art medical center just over the border in Barkhamsted could mean the Winsted Health Center will lose its largest tenant, Charlotte Hungerford Hospital, another health services group is hoping to find a financially feasible way to move into the complex sometime next year.

The Community Health and Wellness Center of Greater Torrington is working with the Winsted Health Center Foundation, the board of directors that oversees the 115 Spencer St. facility, to find a way to create a permanent home for the group there.

Currently, the community health center provides primary medical care and advocacy services to under- and uninsured individuals throughout
Litchfield County at its 489 Migeon Ave. office in Torrington.

But Kathy Grimaud, the Torrington center’s chief executive officer, told The Journal Tuesday that one of the key components of her board’s strategic plan is opening a second satellite center in Winsted in 2010.

Grimaud said the Winsted Health Center is the ideal site for a second location because it sits in the second largest city in the Northwest Corner of the state. Also, the town serves as an important transportation hub for those who live in the more rural northern and western portions of the county.

Earlier this year, the Torrington center applied for a grant through the federal economic stimulus program to help it fund the creation of a permanent home on the Spencer Street campus.

Winsted Health Center Foundation Chairman John Doyle said the foundation’s board voted to support the center’s grant proposal, while also pledging to find space for the office on its campus if the application was approved.

“It’s gone beyond the discussion stage,� Doyle said of the satellite office.

Although the Torrington center recently received word that it will not receive the federal grant, Grimaud said her staff will continue to work with the foundation and other Winsted town officials to find a way to allow the community health center to open a satellite center here.

“We are still committed,� she said.

The Torrington center, however, already has an active presence in Winsted. The center conducts weekly outreach programs at the shelter within the Northwest Connecticut YMCA and The Open Door soup kitchen.

In addition, Grimaud said Charlotte Hungerford donated space within its portion of the Winsted Health Center to allow members of her staff to run an HIV/AIDS testing program there.

Currently, Charlotte Hungerford is the Winsted Health Center’s largest tenant. The Torrington hospital operates an emergency medical clinic at the Winsted Health Center daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

In addition to the emergency center, Charlotte Hungerford runs cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation programs, as well as blood drawing, laboratory, X-ray and digital mammography services at the Spencer Street facility. The hospital’s four-bed Hungerford Regional Sleep Laboratory is located there, too.

In September, Charlotte Hungerford announced it was looking into the possibility of moving out of the Spencer Street facility.

Then, in late October, the Torrington-based developer Borghesi Building & Engineering Company submitted an application to the Barkhamsted Inland Wetlands Committee proposing to construct an 18,290-square-foot commercial health services building at 390 New Hartford Road, next door to Mallory Brook Plaza.

The proposal includes an emergency medical clinic, cardiac rehabilitation center, a helipad for emergency medical helicopters and a large parking area.

The Barkhamsted Inland Wetlands Commission will hold a public hearing on the application for the new center Tuesday, Jan. 5, at 7 p.m. at Barkhamsted Town Hall.

Mallory Brook runs through the southeastern portion of the parcel slated for development, and the lot also includes wetlands. In addition, the town’s Water Pollution Control Authority is involved in reviewing the project, as sewer lines would have to be extended to and from the facility, if it is built.

Dan MacIntyre, president of Charlotte Hungerford, said while he is excited about the possibility of moving the hospital’s operations at the Winsted Health Center into a new medical center, the project remains in the preliminary development stages.

“We’re in the midst of a [financial] feasibility study,� MacIntyre told The Journal Monday, adding that before the hospital board will give its approval for the project, members must first ensure that the cost to lease out space in the new building is not too high.

“And no conclusions have been reached yet,� he said.

Once the cost pricing portion of the project is completed, Borghesi will then present the plan to the hospital’s board for approval.

If members give it the green light, Allan Borghesi said construction on the new center will move forward.

MacIntyre said the hospital has explored the possibility of renovating the health center’s existing buildings, but determined it would prove too costly.

While it would be more cost-effective to build a new center at the site, MacIntyre said there is no available space on the campus to construct a new building without demolishing one of the two existing structures, which would require a lengthy temporary relocation of much of the hospital’s operations there.

MacIntyre said the hospital did look at locations within Winsted, but could not find a suitable available lot for a new center. When the board expanded its search to neighboring towns, it came across the current parcel proposed as the site for the new center in Barkhamsted.

MacIntyre said the site has a lot of appeal: Not only it is close to the Winsted town line, but it is in close proximity to the Route 44 and Route 8 intersection.

He added that the hospital and the foundation continue to have a good working relationship, and while they would like to stay in Winsted, it does not appear to be physically or financially feasible.

In the meantime, the Winsted Health Center’s strategic planning committee continues to focus on developing its long-range plans for the entire health center.

In addition, the center is in the middle of an extensive renovation project after receiving a $130,000 federal grant for the needed repairs. The project involves a new roof, automatic doors and entrance ramps, as well as new stone work for the facility’s 1902 building.

The center’s 1957 building also will receive new thermostats. During the winter months, center staff and volunteers often have had to open the building’s windows to help regulate the temperature inside. The center’s parking lot areas will be completely resurfaced in the spring.

Doyle said if the hospital does decide to relocate to a new facility, it would not be for another two years or so, as it would take time to get all the necessary planning and zoning approvals and construct the new building.

“This thing isn’t around the corner,� he said. “And that gives us time.�