Multiple Phasing, Coordination Hurdles and Other Issues Link Multifaceted Hospital Projects in DPR Markets Coast to Coast

From DPR’s ground-up replacement hospital project in Richmond, VA, to hospital renovation and addition projects under way in California, Texas, and other regions, project teams coast to coast face similar challenges as they tackle a host of technically demanding and logistically intensive hospital projects.

Sutter General Hospital, Sacramento, California

At Sutter General Hospital in Sacramento, DPR is in the midst of a two-phase project slated for completion in April 2001. Each phase has been broken into five sub-phases to accommodate the movement of people and departments as space is built out. The project includes an Emergency Room department addition and remodel that will double current capacity, and a business office and pharmacy addition and remodel under way concurrently in the second phase.

Major challenges include:

• demolition of a precast wall panel less than six inches from a critical medical gas system,
• flexibility to owner requests to halt construction any time a critical emergency comes into the ER,
• coordination of a major pharmacy move in order to remodel existing space while keeping the department fully operating, 24x7.

Children’s Hospital, Austin, Texas

As with the Sacramento job, coordination posed a major challenge on a series of projects DPR recently completed for the Children’s Hospital in Austin, TX. Work included the renovation of about 45,000 sq. ft. of surgery ward, radiology wing and administration/waiting room; a large utility relocation; two smaller renovations; and construction of a new 45,000-sq.-ft. MOB and 100,000-sq.-ft. parking garage.

Building around the ongoing surgery area required multiple phasing. To satisfy the owner’s concern about dust contamination, DPR brought in particulate counters, typically used on semiconductor work, to monitor air quality. “That allowed us to gain their confidence and eased their concerns,” comments Project Manager Jason Choyce. In fact, the owner’s Infectious Control department plans to use the project as a case study for how to build around surgery rooms.

A final project saw the tear-down of one side of a corridor that led to a 24-hour, 7-day-a-week Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. Meanwhile, the other side was remodeled with new handrail, ceiling and grid tile, flooring and paint. Rather than shut off the critical corridor, DPR proceeded with pylons, caution tape, and lots of scrambling to pull ladders out of the way as gurneys came through. This saved critical time at the end of the project.

Bon Secours, Richmond, Virginia

A coup for DPR and the Richmond office in particular was the recent award of a ground-up replacement hospital facility-a new 130-bed acute care hospital with support areas located on a 25-acre campus- designed by project architect Odell Associates.

DPR is pushing to break ground this fall to combat the highly moisture-sensitive soil that is a major concern in the area and can cause havoc to construction schedules in the winter.

Project Manager Mike Locher says the job represents a major opportunity for the company in a region where health care has been one of DPR’s key markets. And Locher expects the market to get better in the immediate future. “Advances in technology and changes in reimbursables are driving health care facilities to rethink the manner in which they provide care. With the focus no longer on in-patient (overnight) care, existing health care infrastructures are being either reworked or replaced with facilities better capable of handling the outpatient customer’s needs. DPR Virginia definitely sees the market on an upswing.”

Hospital Terms

Cath Labs
catheterization laboratories which measure, evaluate and diagnose cardiac illnesses
CT or CAT Scan
computed tomography scan, specialized equipment used for head and body scans
CCU
coronary care unit
ECG
electrocardiogram
Hazmat
hazardous materials
ICU
intensive care unit
MOB
medical office building
PICU
pediatric intensive care unit
Triage
system of establishing the seriousness of a patient’s condition