By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
The old hospital in Nephi is not doing anyone any good
just sitting empty and so Juab County Commissioners are
seeking to dispose of the building.
Neil Cook, commissioner, said he had contacted trade
schools and colleges to see if any of them were interested
in the property as an outreach school but that had not been
successful.
"No one has any money," said Cook.
Commissioners have discussed other uses for the
building but no one has been interested in it, to date. The
uses commissioners have considered have not appealed to
those they have contacted.
"If the county wants to get rid of the building we
should advertise it for sale,"said Cook. "If we advertise it
for sale, maybe somebody might see a use that we don't
see."
"When we advertise it for sale," said Robert Steele,
commissioner, "we should include in the advertisement the
zone the building is located in the city so we are up front
about the possible uses in that zone."
The county has been maintaining the grounds so that
the building would continue to look good. However, agreed
commissioners, the building did need to be sold.
"It will just go downhill," said Cook.
The earliest section of the hospital opened in the
Spring of 1952. The approximate coast was $180,000 with the
county, the state and the federal government all paying
one-third of the cost.
In November 1961, a new wing, costing $110,000 was
added on the west side of the building. The capacity went
from 14 to 27 beds.
In February 1974 a well-equipped laboratory and x-ray
room were added at a cost of $70,000.
Another medical addition, the former doctor's office
building, was added to the hospital proper and it is now
being used to house a head start preschool.
The hospital was remodeled one more time, during the
early 1980s, before the new medical facility, the Central
Utah Medical Center, was built on the north west of
Nephi.
Since it was constructed in 1952, the building has
been the property of Juab County.
The newest medical facility on the old hospital
property, a doctor's office facility, is now owned by the
Juab School District and serves as the district office
building.
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