CHRISTUS representatives say central‑plant repairs underway; completion pushed to early December

CHRISTUS Health representatives briefed the Bee County Commissioners Court on July 13 about structural repairs to the hospital’s central plant that supplies chilled water and emergency power to the main facility.

Rick Moring, appearing for CHRISTUS, introduced the status report and said the work is advancing with on‑site general contractors. Michelle Robbins, regional facilities manager, told the court the project is approximately 25% complete and engineers identified deterioration in exterior grading that had allowed rainwater to degrade structural elements and rebar inside a concrete pad and adjacent beams.

Robbins said crews have removed the original concrete pad and now must remove additional sections and replace beams and rebar before pouring a new pad. The team also plans to replace roughly 100 feet of chilled‑water piping within the tunnel that connects the central plant and the hospital; rental equipment has been installed to maintain cooling during the work. When asked about schedule, Robbins said the contractor expects to add about three weeks to the program, moving projected completion to the beginning of December.

Commissioners thanked the CHRISTUS team for work that keeps critical systems online during construction and for the around‑the‑clock coordination required to protect patient care.

Why it matters: The central plant supports hospital HVAC and emergency power. Structural repairs and piping replacement carried modest schedule risk but, according to CHRISTUS, have been staged to protect patient services.

What’s next: CHRISTUS staff will continue engineering assessments and complete demolition, beam reinforcement and chilled‑water pipeline replacement; the court accepted the update and did not take regulatory action at the meeting.