Healthcare

Ground was broken in August of 2014 on the $295 million Seton Medical Center at the University of Texas. The 211-bed teaching hospital is located in Austin adjacent to the new Dell Medical School campus and will replace the existing University Medical Center Brackenridge. The 500,000-sf facility will be owned and operated by Seton, a subsidiary of Ascension Health. The project team includes architect HKS and general contractor JE Dunn.

Queen Elizabeth Hospital is partnering with the University of Birmingham and Birmingham Children’s Hospital to build the $40 million Institute of Translational Medicine. The 64,600-sf clinical research facility will include an early-phase trial unit and a pharmaceutical development hub, as well as housing the Rare Disease Centre. General contractor VINCI Construction was awarded a $17.6 million contract to renovate existing space at the hospital to accommodate the facility. Occupancy is expected in June of 2015.

A complete interior and partial exterior renovation of the Wallace Tumor Institute, the hub of the Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Alabama, Birmingham, achieves the three priorities established by the Center’s director: It provides a front door for the Institute, infuses the building with natural light, and is designed to foster collaboration between scientists.

The 350,000-sf Conventus facility is under construction in Buffalo, N.Y. The seven-story building will provide clinical, office, and research space and is strategically located on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus to support collaboration with academic and industry partners. The project team includes Kideney Architects, construction manager LPCiminelli, Siracuse Engineers, M/E Engineering, and C&S Companies. LEED Gold sustainable design certification will be sought for the facility.

Cooper University Hospital opened two additional floors in the Roberts Pavilion in Camden in August of 2014. Providing surgical and cardiac care, the project represents an investment of $30 million in construction, instrumentation, and interior fit-out of existing shell space in the 10-story structure. The expanded facility features nursing stations integrated with inpatient rooms and an advanced hospital supply distribution system.

The 21-story Hospital for Sick Children's (SickKids) Peter Gilgan Centre for Research and Learning is believed to be the largest health center in the world devoted to children's health research. It houses more than 2,000 scientists and staff, with room for 260 PIs—previously scattered in six different locations—conducting state-of-the-art genomics, cancer, stem cell, brain behavior, and organ research.

Parkview Health is building the $20 million Mirro Center for Research and Education in Fort Wayne, Ind. The 82,000-sf translational research facility will accommodate clinical trials for pharmaceutical products and medical devices, as well as housing instructional space and a simulation training suite. The building will provide labs, offices, conference rooms, and an auditorium. Completion is expected in early 2015.

Lahey Hospital is planning a $60 million expansion of its academic medical center campus in Burlington, Mass. Designed by FreemanWhite and built by Suffolk Construction, the 190,000-sf facility will provide a new emergency department as well as mechanical areas and shell space to accommodate future growth. The project will be delivered using Model-Based Estimating and Lean construction methodologies. LEED Silver sustainable design certification will be sought for the facility, which is slated for completion in spring of 2017.

Trios Health opened the $112 million Southridge Hospital in July of 2014 in Kennewick, Wash. The four-story, 168,000-sf facility was designed by PKA Architects of Portland and built by C.D. Smith Construction. With a total of 74 private rooms, the hospital provides 14 intensive care beds and 60 medical/surgical beds. Featuring a three-story atrium, the project includes six operating rooms, an advanced diagnostic imaging suite, cardiac catheterization labs, and an emergency department with 27 treatment rooms.

The Translational Research Institute for Metabolism and Diabetes (TRI) is a unique stand-alone hospital-like facility that offers rare proof that facility design can accelerate the time it takes to go from new lab discovery to patient treatment. Utilizing a core-based model that includes imaging, pharmacy, kitchen, and lab cores in one location, the facility focuses on fast-tracking functional treatments for diabetes and obesity.

Presbyterian Rust Medical Center is building an $86 million patient tower in Rio Rancho, N.M. Designed by Dekker/Perich/Sabatini, the six-story project will provide 120 beds and will include a 21,500-sf cancer center. The general contractor for the project is McCarthy Building Companies, the firm that collaborated with Dekker/Perich/Sabatini on the original Presbyterian Rust hospital. Completion of the new patient tower and cancer center is expected by early 2016.

St. Joseph’s Hospital is building a $113 million patient tower in Syracuse, N.Y. Designed by King & King Architects, the 104,000-sf facility will provide 110 private rooms, a surgery center with 14 operating rooms, an ICU, and a central sterile services core. The project will also include family waiting rooms, staff training space, and support areas. Completion is expected in late 2014.

Baptist Health broke ground in July of 2014 on the $130 million Baptist Health Medical Center-Conway. Slated for occupancy in early 2016, the three-story, 216,000-sf facility will provide 96 beds, a Level III trauma center, and eight surgical suites. The project team includes architectural firm GSR Andrade and general contractor CDI.

The Coordinated Approval Process for Clinical Research (CAPCR) is a web-based application that streamlines the approval process required to conduct research using human subjects. Designed to help researchers and hospital staff navigate the process of coordinating and tracking clinical research within a hospital system, CAPCR gives an institution time to plan for the infrastructure a line of research will necessitate, and to mitigate any associated safety hazards. CAPCR automates the approval process, avoids duplication, and creates an online repository for study-related information, allowing faster approval times and greater access to information. It also eliminates the need for paper application forms, helps researchers ensure they have the necessary approvals for their studies, and provides an efficient way to obtain authorizations from multiple departments and track approvals online. The system is being marketed as a tool for use in other hospitals.

Boston Medical Center has implemented new mobile facility management applications from Magic Software Enterprises. BMC's new iOS and Android apps are part of the End-to-End Enterprise Mobility Solution and increase the efficiency of hospital technicians who repair equipment across the large campus. The apps enable the immediate rerouting of employees to respond to critical malfunctions as they happen and also allow hospital staff to initiate and monitor service calls and check on the status of incidents at any time.