CAPE CORAL, Fla.—Skanska USA, a leading construction and development firm, has announced the delivery of Lee Health’s 12-bed intensive care unit (ICU) expansion at Cape Coral Hospital. Located at 636 Del Prado Blvd., the healthcare project consisted of an 11,190-SF vertical expansion to support Cape Coral’s growing population and reduce wait times for patient treatment. In addition to adding 12 ICU rooms and staff support areas with a tie-in to the existing second floor, the renovation also increased its dialysis units from four to six.

The expanded ICU now features a first-of-its-kind HVAC pandemic mode system, which can transform the unit into a negative pressure environment to contain and prevent the spread of infectious disease. The negative pressure unit was built to closely replicate Lee Health’s Gulf Coast Medical Center’s 52-bed ICU expansion in Fort Myers, FL.

“We are proud to partner with Lee Health to deliver this hospital expansion that caters to the ever-growing healthcare needs of Southwest Florida,” said Bob Kramer, Vice President and Account Manager for Skanska’s Florida building operations. ” We construct buildings that will change the lives of people who enter and we are pleased to deliver a facility that will play a key role in helping to further advance Florida’s healthcare system for the benefit of the communities we serve.”

With a construction budget of $9 million and designed by architecture firm Studio+, Cape Coral Hospital serves as the healthcare hub for one of Southwest Florida’s largest cities. It also boosts bed capacity from 291 to a total of 303, bringing more options for critical care to the growing area.

As a leader in healthcare construction, Skanska has completed several transformative hospital and medical projects throughout Florida, including the expansion and renovation of the Gulf Coast Medical Center in Fort Myers; the state-of-the-art medical facility Orlando Health Jewett Orthopedic Institute in Downtown Orlando; and the renovation of the Salah Foundation Children’s Hospital at Broward Health. Currently, Skanska is also leading the construction of a new 580,000-square-foot, seven-story acute care hospital in Lakeland, Fla.

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ESTERO, Fla.—Stevens Construction has completed construction management services for Lee Health University Highlands, located at 19511 Highland Oaks Drive in Estero, announced Dan Adams, vice president/principal, Stevens Construction, Inc.

Stevens Construction completed a two-story, 20,820-square-foot primary care office and outpatient center for South Real Estate Group, who is leasing the building to Lee Health.  Located on the first floor, the outpatient center houses diagnostic imaging such as ultrasound, X-Ray and women’s health services such as mammogram and DEXA scanning. The outpatient center also includes a lab draw station and an adult physical therapy clinic. The second floor is a full scope family medicine practice, which will grow to a total of 10 providers.

Lee Health University Highlands is open Monday-Friday. Visit Outpatient Center at University Highlands Lee Health for more information.

The Stevens Construction team included Project Manager Mark Pelafas, Superintendent Matt Adalpe and Project Administrator Sue Ziegenfus. The project was designed by Burt Hill/Pollock Krieg Architects.

With offices in Fort Myers, Sarasota and Orlando, Fla., Stevens Construction specializes in providing construction management, general contracting and consulting services to clients and design professionals.

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NAPLES, Fla.—In Naples, children battling cancer are receiving their chemotherapy while traveling to outer space, going on a deep sea diving adventure or being immersed inside a video game.

It’s all thanks to a new virtual reality treatment room, located at Lee Health’s Golisano Children’s Health Center.

Inside the innovative treatment room, the walls are covered by floor-to-ceiling projections to give kids a 270-degree immersive experience while they undergo chemotherapy treatments. Children are able to choose from different backdrops, such as the beach, space or underwater, and then be completely immersed in their surroundings. The virtual experience also includes sounds and interactive elements. For example, in the space setting, kids can hit a button on the screen to interact with the astronaut, including making him dance.

Children like eight-year-old Edwin Garcia who once hated chemo appointments now enjoy going to them.

“It has been like night and day for Edwin. He gets so excited going to his chemotherapy now,” said Keiry Flores, Edwin’s mother. “It’s amazing what this room does and just how life-like it is. I’ll never forget the first time he used the immersion room. They had the beach scene up and it’s like he forgot where he really was. He took off his shirt and settled in for his chemo. I couldn’t believe it!”

The goal of the room is to create a soothing atmosphere to help make the 2-to-6-hour chemotherapy treatments more comfortable for children. In addition to the different experience choices, kids can also use the room to watch movies, play video games or video chat with friends and family while receiving their treatment.

“Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida provides a variety of specialized services to take care of our community’s children,” said Dr. Larry Antonucci, president and chief executive officer of Lee Health. “Children deserve innovative care in an environment that soothes anxiety and fear, and that’s what this virtual reality immersion room does. We’re proud to be able to offer this kind of technology to our community.”

Golisano Children’s Health Center is an extension of Golisano Children’s Hospital, which is the only children’s hospital in Southwest Florida. Golisano Children’s Hospital is located in Fort Myers.

The opening of the immersive treatment room took place earlier this year and is part of a comprehensive expansion of pediatric health care services at Golisano Children’s Health Center.

In addition to the immersion room, Lee Health is bringing an array of new and expanded services to the Naples clinic aimed at keeping families close to home for their medical care. This expansion will provide greater access and shorter wait times for pediatric services like cardiology, neurology, mental health, developmental disorders, outpatient surgery and ophthalmology, among others.

Golisano Children’s Hospital partnered with local company d3 Creative Studio in the development and design of the immersion room.

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FORT MYERS, Fla. — Stevens Construction has completed a 57,000-square-foot, post-acute care skilled nursing unit for Lee Health, as announced by Company President, Mark Stevens.

Developed by Aquila Healthcare Development, Lee Health is leasing the three-story, 75-bed medical facility, which provides post-acute services for patients needing short-term medical recovery and rehabilitation after their hospital stays. 

Based out of Gateway, Fla., integrated architectural, interiors, lean, branding, and surfaces company, Studio+, designed the nursing unit with a home-like approach.

The facility consists of three separate units each housing an open concept living room, kitchen, nurse station and 25 private patient beds with convenient access to the occupational and physical therapy rooms.

The Skilled Nursing Unit features a 3,000-square-foot therapy gym incorporating the latest technology and equipment, and a wellness garden with lush landscaping and herb planting stations.

Gulf Coast Medical Center’s new Skilled Nursing Unit is specifically intended to accommodate high acuity short-term patient needs.

This brand new, state-of-the-art facility benefits from Gulf Coast Medical Center’s award-winning, high performing environment and offers an exceptional patient-centered, service-oriented approach that will truly redefine the perceptions of skilled nursing.

Construction began on the nursing unit in November 2017 and reached completion in early 2019.

About Aquila Healthcare Development

Aquila Healthcare Development delivers turn-key real estate solutions which provide patient-centered and state-of-the-art healthcare environments to support long-term strategy for healthcare clients. 

About Stevens Construction

With offices in Fort Myers, Tampa and Orlando, Stevens Construction specializes in providing construction management, general contracting and consulting services to clients and design professionals. Other services include site and design team selection, budgeting, project scheduling, permitting, cost and quality control and warranty service. The company builds healthcare, commercial and hospitality facilities. For information, visit www.stevensconstructioninc.com 

Reports from Stevens Construction and Lee Health contributed to this story.

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