Kodiak hospital's emergency power switch replacement goes to 65% design review Sept. 15

The Kodiak Island Borough Health Facilities Advisory Board is scheduled to review the 65% design for replacing emergency power switching equipment at Providence Kodiak Island Medical Center on Sept. 15 at 1:30 p.m. in the Providence Barometer Conference Room. Under design documents dated Aug. 7, 2026, contractors must give the hospital at least 30 days' notice before shutting down any branch of its electrical distribution system. They must also keep a backout procedure ready in case power needs immediate restoration. Project drawings show a 35% design development phase dated July 31, 2026, ahead of the 65% design now under review.

The four existing switches, roughly 27 years old, are the same equipment Alaska News previously reported the borough took over replacing because parts for them are no longer manufactured. The project would build an outbuilding next to the hospital at 1915 E. Rezanof Drive to house four replacement automatic transfer switches and a generator distribution switchboard. Providence project materials describe the emergency power system as providing four days of standalone backup electrical power to the main hospital facility, a critical access hospital governed by National Electrical Code articles 517, 700 and 702. The hospital will stay operational during construction, and access to the building's north side must remain open at all times. That sequencing determines whether clinical staff keep elevators and critical equipment running through the work, and whether patients see any interruption in care.

Two additional transfer switches feeding two elevators will be demolished rather than replaced. The documents describe them as redundant and an unnecessary added cost.

Design services carry a fee of $151,155, drawn on limited borough funding that local taxpayers support. The board has cautioned that hospital spending may need phased review, given the aging campus. At the April 17, 2025, Assembly meeting, Lori Riddle said "the buildings we use to provide those services are aging, and many of the building components have reached the end of their serviceable life."

The Sept. 15 agenda also lists the reverse osmosis and steam generator project, Rural Health Transformation funds, a chiller update and Kodiak Community Health Center updates. Citizens' comments are limited to three minutes per speaker.