Eagle Medical Center to be state-of-the-art

The roof isn't completed but the view is great from the third floor of the Eagle Medical Center, being built on the corner of Nye Lane and Carson Street.

Owned jointly by a number of Carson City physicians and physician groups, the $10 million, state-of-the-art facility is designed to be more inviting and rustic than clinical, according to Steve Mims, administrator for Tahoe-Carson Radiology.

"It's always uncomfortable for anyone visiting a physician when they're not feeling well," he said. "We want the community to have a positive overall experience when they come into building by creating a warm environment and making services more easily accessible."

The stucco and flagstone exterior will house 65,000 square feet of medical-use space, an atrium, skylights and $80,000 in landscaping, complete with mature trees.

Located less than a mile from either Carson-Tahoe Hospital or a proposed regional medical center near Eagle Valley Children's Home, it will offer both physicians and patients easy access, according to Mims.

"The land was initially purchased for an imaging center," he said. "But as local physicians started thinking about the project, they decided on a joint effort, one that would allow them to develop a center where patients could go into one building for the majority of their health-care needs."

Capital Medical Associates, High Desert Therapists, Tahoe-Carson Radiology, Great Basin Imaging, oncologist Dr. John Kelly are all involved in the project. Physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist Dr. Tracy Muscari will be located in the building and Carson-Tahoe Hospital is expected to add an infusion center and an oupatient lab.

"We're talking to a number of physicians with various specialties who are interested in moving into the building, but a majority of the building is occupied," Mims said.

The building features post tension flat concrete slab, a construction method that employs special cables to support the floors and ceilings. Before the concrete is poured, cables are draped over the rebar reinforcement within the forms.

After the concrete is dry the cables are stretched using more than 5,200 pounds of pressure. The method distributes the pressure over supporting walls and beams, thereby eliminating the need for support beams.

In addition to greatly improving the building's ability to withstand earthquakes, the concrete acts as a barrier to fire, eliminating the need for the extra fireproofing needed in regular steel construction.

Because there are no beams, plumbing and wiring installation is easier and forced air heating ducts are more efficient because they follow more direct routes.

The building should be completed by the end of August and fully occupied by November 2002, according to Mims.