Salina ? The Salina Regional Health Center plans to build a patient tower that will give every patient at the hospital a private room and help it compete with other hospitals in the region.

Randy Peterson, president and chief executive officer of the hospital, announced the plans for the $42 million project Friday.

Construction on the building could begin as early as January and be completed by December 2007. After the tower is built, other parts of the hospital will be renovated, bringing the cost of the project to $55 million.

Peterson said the hospital and its board are working out financing, but it will probably include a mix of hospital revenue, bonds and private fundraising.

The third floor of the tower will be empty to allow for expansion. The fourth and fifth floors will each house 36 private patient rooms, and the sixth floor will be used for labor, delivery and a nursery.

Modernizing also will help the hospital remain competitive with other hospitals, said Peterson, noting that hospitals in Hays and Manhattan have recently undergone renovations. About 40 percent of the 10,000 yearly admissions to Salina Regional are from outside Salina.