Pavilion opening delayed by two months

Critical pieces of electrical equipment will delay the Oct. 1, 2023, opening of Asante Rogue Regional’s pavilion by a couple of months.

Delivery of eight pieces of switchgear to convert the City of Medford’s electricity into electricity the pavilion can use — from the headwalls in patient rooms to the giant air handling units — has been delayed by the East Coast manufacturer because of a change in the plant’s location, staffing shortages due to COVID and difficulty getting parts from other countries.

Using a different manufacturer is not possible this late in the game, as each manufacturer has its own specs and requirements that are followed from the beginning of construction, said Anas Ouadi of Jacobs, the company managing the pavilion project.

ARRMC CEO Mick Zdeblick has set a move-in date of Dec. 3 for planning purposes, which will give the operational team the necessary time to train and get acclimated to new locations and procedures.

Jacobs, Andersen (the construction contractor) and ARRMC’s Facilities Department are working with the city to determine whether they can use temporary power during the summer months to install and test some of the myriad equipment that will run the pavilion.

“We’ll use the first quarter of fiscal year 2024 (October-December 2023) to get staffed and trained,” Zdeblick said. “We won’t set a definitive date for opening until that switchgear is on its way.”