Graham Construction & Management Inc., of Spokane, and a number of subcontractors from Spokane and Kootenai counties have donated materials and labor to Shriners Hospitals for Children-Spokane to help cover the costs of remodeling part of its movement analysis lab, the hospital says.

Construction, which began last month to accommodate equipment upgrades at the facility at 911 W. Fifth, had been expected to be completed earlier this week, and the lab is scheduled to reopen to patients on Nov. 1, says Elizabeth Lutch, a spokeswoman for the hospital.

Located on the third floor of the five-story hospital, the 2,200-square-foot movement analysis lab is used to evaluate walking or gait problems of child patients who come to the facility. The project area involves 1,200 square feet of floor space in the lab.

The work included cutting through the concrete floor, reconstructing pits for the equipment, repairing and patching drywall, installing floor-covering and leveling materials, painting, and installing analysis equipment, says Bret Miche, Graham's project manager.

The new equipment includes high-tech floor plates, like sophisticated scales, that measure motions of the feet, including forward-and-back and sideways acceleration, Miche says. A movable camera also records patients' movements from multiple angles as they walk across the plate.

The technology creates 3-D computer images of the patient that physicians can use to determine which corrective procedures would be most effective, Lutch says.

The hospital declines to disclose the cost of the equipment, although Miche says the value of the donated work and materials exceeds $15,000.

The project came about as Graham approached Shriners about donating its services to the hospital, says Katie Prugh, Graham's administrator for the project. Graham then rounded up other subcontractors willing to contribute to the project, she says.

Spokane County subcontractors that have contributed goods and services to the project include Commercial Tearout Services Inc., Rubenstein's Contract Carpet LLC, Stock Building Supply West LLC, Central Pre-Mix Concrete Co., Tri States Rebar Inc., and Concrete Cutters Inc.

Contributing Kootenai County subcontractors include Champion Concrete Pumping Inc. and All Wall Contracting Inc.

Although Graham has contributed to other causes in the past, this is the first time that it has headed up an entire project with donated labor and construction materials, Prugh says.

"Shriners Hospital is an ideal match for our first charity project of this scope," she says, adding, "We're looking to do it once or twice a year with different projects around the area."

The movement analysis lab earlier this year was one of the first such labs in the Pacific Northwest to gain full accreditation from the Commission for Movement Laboratory Inc., Lutch says. The commission, a nonprofit accrediting body, was established in 1997 to evaluate clinical motion laboratories bya standard set of criteria.

The Shriner's 96,000-square-foot, 30-bed facility here is part of a nonprofit, 22-hospital network based in Tampa, Fla., that provides specialty pediatric care at no cost to patients regardless of their ability to pay. The Spokane hospital, which was constructed in 1990, primarily serves children from Washington, North Idaho, Montana, Alaska, and western Canada. The facility is funded through donations, although it began billing insurance companies in recent years for patients who have coverage.