Hospital on target for winter 2012 completion

A Layton construction worker builds the framing for the exterior windows on the new Barstow Community Hospital Thursday morning.

Justin Markham of Layton construction said that the construction team — which is 55 to 60 workers on an average day — is currently working on hanging the exterior sheating which will be followed by a building wrap and then the stucco covering.

Hospital spokesman, John Rader, said the project is on target to open by the end of next year.

The new hospital is being built to meet the California seismic standards. The hospital will have three floors, including a basement, and house 30 beds. Plans also show it will have a bigger emergency room, a more advanced maternity department and intensive care unit, and expanded operating rooms.