Nearly a year after breaking ground, Presbyterian Hospital will resume construction.

Hospital officials put the project on hold for seven months because of economic uncertainty. However, with the economy showing some positive signs, according to Presbyterian CEO Jim Hinton, construction resumed last Thursday.

“Construction, once again, is underway and is full steam ahead,” Hinton said at a press conference Thursday. “Presbyterian is back to building Rio Rancho’s first hospital.”

Digital rendering courtesy of Presbyterian This digital rendering shows what the Presbyterian Hospital should look like when it'€™s completed in the fall of 2011.

He acknowledged that the delay was frustrating.

“We appreciate the community’s patience and support,” Hinton said. “We know it was difficult for Rio Rancho and the West Side to see construction slow down. We will build a visionary hospital for the City of Vision.”

Why resume construction now? Hinton explained the bond market is more forgiving and there are reasonable interest rates to be attained. He projects the hospital being complete in the fall of 2011.

Originally, the hospital was projected to be complete in November of 2010.

The price tag for the hospital is $165 million. The hospital will borrow $130 million and use $15 million from the operations budget to finance the hospital. Hinton said the company is also seeking donations to fund the balance.

While the hospital is back on track, Hinton admits there are some challenges ahead.

“There’s the uncertainty around healthcare reform and where that takes us in this country,” he said. “Presbyterian has a hundred year history of working through challenges and changing times. I’m confident that Presbyterian will succeed.”

Presbyterian plans to employee 500 people, have 140 physicians and a payroll of $50 million. The hospital will have 66 private patient rooms, a full-service emergency department with a helicopter pad, a state-of-the-art women’s center,

labor and delivery and a neonatal intensive care unit. Presbyterian also will offer intensive care, operating rooms and a catheterization lab.

Sandoval County Commission Chairman Donnie Leonard (D-Corrales) is excited that the project is back on track.

“This is a win-win for the whole county,” he said. “It’s a pleasant surprise that came sooner than later. It will make a tremendous economic impact on the West Side. Because it will be a state-of-the-art facility, it will attract another level of healthcare providers.”

Rio Rancho Mayor Tom Swisstack said the construction of Presbyterian Hospital will improve the quality of life in the city.

“When the medical center opens for the first time, those of us from Rio Rancho needing hospital care will not have to travel across the river, but instead will benefit from services coming across the river to meet us,” he said. “Having the critical health care services that are associated with a state-of-the-art hospital — whether you are having a baby or needing surgery — will have an impact on the quality of life in our community that cannot be calculated.”

The hospital also will continue the positive momentum in the city, according to the mayor.

“The work associated with constructing Presbyterian’s Rio Rancho Medical Center is a continuation of the positive momentum already started in Rio Rancho through Hewlett-Packard’s new facility, the construction of campuses for the University of New Mexico and Central New Mexico Community College, retail development such as new Walgreens and CVS pharmacy locations, millions of dollars of new and existing road improvements; and increased development inquiries — especially in the downtown City Center area.”

Presbyterian Hospital will be located east of Unser and north of Black Arroyo Road, straddling the Rio Rancho/Albuquerque border.

Voters in Sandoval County approved a 4.25 mill property tax increase last November to help Presbyterian Healthcare Services, along with University of New Mexico, offer an expanded range of services.

That money, however, will not be used for the construction of the hospital. PHS administrator Clay Holderman, who will head the Rio Rancho hospital, explained last year that the money from taxes will go to support operations and programs at the hospital that need to be subsidized, like intensive care and medical specialists.

Those contracts also must be approved by the Sandoval County Commission.