HAMILTON, Mont. — Construction crews broke ground on a $15 million project to expand operating rooms at Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital in Hamilton.

Sometime in early 2019, on the north end of the hospital, there will be three new operating rooms, with space for a fourth operating room plus room for up to 26 recovery beds.

There will be a new entrance and waiting room. The operating rooms will almost double in size from those built in 1970.

"With the new technology today," said the hospital's chief executive officer, John Bartos, "and the type of surgeries we do here, we need to have larger operating rooms."

Bartos said in his 30-year tenure he has seen staff grow from two to 11 surgeons.

The new addition will be 26,000 square feet. The hospital is also attaching a 1,500 square foot C-section surgical suite onto the birthing center for privacy.

Currently mothers who need a C-section are taken from the birthing center through the hospital to the operating room.

"Having the C-section room attached to the birthing center," said Bartos, "we can go across the hallway."

Bartos said the expansion is an effort to serve the Bitterroot's growing population close to home.

He said much of the demand for services comes from Ravalli County's high number of seniors.

We talked to Corvallis resident Larry Lund in downtown Hamilton.

"We have a large percentage of our population that is retired," said Lund. "I think there's perhaps a larger demand for health care than in other areas."

Bartos said there may be a "slight increase" in surgical costs for patients. But he said it's a service the hospital needs to provide for local residents.

The project is being financed through the Montana Facility Finance Authorities, which allows rural hospitals to have access to low-interest funding for facility expansion.

Over the next 14 months as many as 90 construction workers will be put to work on the project.

"We're getting going," said construction superintendent Jeff Peterson. "We're kicking off the concrete foundations which can be a challenge this time of year."

But he said the weather has been good. Monday was especially nice.

Once the operating rooms are completed the hospital plans another phase to build a new front entry, central waiting room and kitchen.

The hospital has completed several phases of a master plan already. They include an emergency room, rehab center, intensive care unit, new clinics and a lab.