Charles Cole Memorial Hospital

Charles Cole Memorial Hospital (CCMH) is a 501(c)(3), charitable, nonprofit healthcare organization located in Coudersport, Potter County, in north-central Pennsylvania. This rural facility, designated as a Critical Access Hospital (CAH), serves 46,000 residents in its primary and secondary service areas, encompassing Potter, McKean, Tioga, and Cameron Counties in Pennsylvania and portions of New York’s southern tier. With 733 employees, CCMH is Potter County’s largest employer and a significant contributor to both the regional and statewide economies.

CCMH is contending with limitations to its existing surgical suite due to its outdated configuration, lack of adequate support space, and projected increase in patient volumes in the operating rooms (ORs) over the next six years. The hospital’s inpatient surgical volumes are projected to increase by 41 percent between 2008 and 2016. CCMH is facing similar challenges in the emergency department (ED) as accommodations do not offer an adequate level of patient privacy, and the family waiting room and staff support space are not sufficient to accommodate visitors and employees. A lack of patient privacy and insufficiencies stemming from the ED’s layout have become sources of dissatisfaction for both patients and visitors, and CCMH’s outdated facilities and equipment hinder the hospital’s ability to provide the safest and most efficient private care of patients.

CCMH hired Delta to develop and oversee a comprehensive public funding strategy to advance a $5.5 million, 15,500-square-foot expansion project at CCMH’s current location. Delta recommended that CCMH seek public funding through the Commonwealth’s Infrastructure and Facilities Improvement Program (IFIP). The program is administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development and provides multiyear grants to help offset debt service payments made in connection with the financing of eligible projects. Working in collaboration with hospital management to secure support for the project at the local, county, and state levels and to prepare application materials, Delta managed the grant application development process on behalf of CCMH.

With Delta’s assistance in managing the IFIP application process, CCMH was awarded a $2 million IFIP award to advance the $5.5 million expansion and renovation project. The project will address the hospital’s challenges of inadequate space and the limitations of aging facilities by expanding the surgical suite and ED. Incorporating more than 9,000 square feet of renovations and new construction in CCMH’s surgical suite, this project will add two new operating rooms, a post-anesthesia care unit, and additional space for storage and mechanical equipment. Improvements in the ED will incorporate more than 6,500 square feet of renovations and new construction. These improvements include new private treatment and exam rooms, dedicated registration and reception areas, an expanded waiting room, separate walk-in and ambulance entrances, and more staff support space. The project will create approximately 33 new, permanent jobs at the hospital and generate $1.9 million in new employee wages, further supporting Potter County and the surrounding area.