PORTLAND, Maine—Colliers Project Leaders | USA is delivering comprehensive project management and owner’s representative services on extensive expansions to Maine Medical Center in Portland. The multi-phased project includes a new, 270,000-square-foot inpatient tower, a new patient and visitor parking garage providing 225 additional spots, a three-story expansion to the East Tower and a 110,000-square-foot medical office building for neuroscience, vascular surgery and ENT, as well as a 2,450-car parking garage for staff. Delivered in four phases, the $534 million project is the largest expansion in Maine Medical Center’s history. The Colliers team is led by Dominic Gagnon, Senior Vice President, Adam Troidl, Vice President, Coleman Joyce, Senior Project Manager, and Ashley Roan, Project Coordinator.

The first phase involved a three-story overbuild on the current eight-story Patient & Visitor Parking Garage providing 225 additional parking spaces, as well as an additional three-story overbuild on the current East Tower, which created two-stories for 64 inpatient oncology beds and two rooftop helipads. The second phase of construction focuses on the new, state-of-the-art staff parking garage. This 9-level garage is the largest north of the Boston metro area and provides staff with 2,450 new spaces and a technologically empowered system to measure vacancies.

The third phase of construction, targeted for completion in 2023, involves the creation of a new 270,000-square-foot inpatient tower with 96 beds and 19 procedure rooms, as well as a universal room concept to achieve flexibility and reduce the possibility of future renovations. Finally, the independent phase involves the construction of a new, 110,000-square-foot medical office building on the medical center’s Scarborough Campus. This new center will house neuroscience, vascular surgery and ENT practices.

“As the physician leader on our building project, I have found the project support, knowledge base and management that Colliers provides to be invaluable,” said Michael R. Baumann, MD, FACEP, Chair, Department of Emergency Medicine, MaineHealth. “They are extremely knowledgeable in all aspects of the project and provide overall management of the building with ease and elegance.”

“Trust is the buzz word in healthcare in 2020, and we had absolute trust in the work being done by Colliers,” said Joel Botler, MD, Chief Medical Officer, MaineHealth. “Like Colliers, one of our core values is ownership and they define that value.”

“Colliers is honored to deliver an innovative facility to meet the most urgent healthcare needs of the future,” said Gagnon. “This new expansion will help empower Maine Medical Center to champion patient care and research for decades to come.”

Colliers is working closely with Perkins & Will, Turner Construction, Thornton Tomasetti, Consigli Construction and SMRT to deliver the expansion.

The post Maine Medical Center Expansion Moves Forward appeared first on HCO News.

CINCINNATI—The University of Cincinnati Health system, affiliated with the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, has announced its largest ever expansion, a $221 million upgrade to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.

According to the Cincinnati Business Courier, the quarter-billion-dollar project will refurbish nearly the entire 14-acre Clifton Campus of the UC Health’s campus to make it more up-to-date and allow for greater medical care in Cincinnati’s Uptown neighborhood. Larger operating rooms with state-of-the-art equipment are planned, as well as renovations to the emergency department and a buildout of new garages and two new medical buildings as well.

Many of the buildings on the campus are a half-century or even 100 years old. This project marks the first phase of a long-term plan to modernize the entire healthcare campus, with the Cincinnati Business Courier reporting that this will entail renovating and expanding 17 buildings encompassing 1.7 million square feet of healthcare space.

CEO of UC Health Dr. Rick Lofgren was quoted in the Business Courier report as saying that the $221 million project will fundamentally change the campus as part of UC Health’s mission to transform itself into a cutting-edge healthcare provider. Furthermore, Lofgren said his organization must look to its immediate future as well as the city’s long-term needs to be able to assist with Cincinnati’s healthcare sector.

The lion’s share of the budget will be needed to upgrade the 35,000-square-foot emergency department, which was designed and built in the late 1980s. The UC Medical Center’s emergency department saw over 120,000 visits for trauma in 2019 alone, the Business Courier reported, and the ER often runs at or near capacity. The expansion and renovation of the emergency department will cost $110 million, and a “flexible” intensive care unit will also be constructed adjacent to the main ER as well.

An additional 41,000 square feet of space next to the emergency department will be constructed on empty land, but this will require demolishing the 1910-built UC Medical Center B Pavilion to make room for the new facility. This will enable better ease of transport and patient flow between the two spaces.

An additional three-story building will also be constructed, at a cost of $40 million. In this building, eight additional operating rooms and other clinical support space will be built out. This new building necessitates the demolition of the existing Radiology Administrative Building and the Old Operating Pavilion.

The full renovation is expected to be completed in 2025.

The UC Medical Center is the third-largest in Cincinnati and, according to the Business Courier, employs over 10,000 staff members, nearly a thousand UC Health physicians and hundreds of residents and fellows.

The post University of Cincinnati Health Announces Huge Expansion Project appeared first on HCO News.

BEACHWOOD, Ohio—The University Hospital Ahuja Medical Center, located in the eastern Cleveland suburbs, is set to commence on a $200 million expansion that will add a second five-floor hospital tower as well as a two-floor sports medicine complex.

The hospital announced that the expansion will entail new labor and delivery services, a Level 2 neonatal intensive care unit as well as increase the emergency room’s overall patient capacity. Furthermore, the project entails an expansion to its radiology services, a women’s health center and what the company called “the largest sports rehab complex in Northeast Ohio.”

Specialized services to be included in the new facility will include an ambulatory surgical center entailing eight operating rooms. Additionally, there will be nearly a dozen new examination rooms specifically dedicated to the University Hospital Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute.

The hospital system says that the newer additions will incorporate into the UH Ahuja Medical Center’s existent design paradigm, incorporating wellness gardens and health education areas.

The expansion is scheduled to get underway before the end of the year and be completed in 2022; it will reportedly be designed by HKS Inc. the architecture firm that designed the existing Ahuja campus.

The hospital also announced this month the addition of a men’s health center, according to Cleveland.com. The Cutler Center for Men’s Comprehensive Care will be the next phase of expansion to UH Ahuja Medical Center. The center’s facilities will be located jointly both at Ahuja as well as at the UH Otis Moss Health Center in the nearby Fairfax neighborhood. Two more locations are planned in the future.

“We will address the huge number of men not engaged with health care and redefine what men’s health care will look like,” said Dr. Lee Ponsky, the chair and professor of urology at UH Cleveland Medical Center, and who is set to become the director of the new Cutler Center. “In Greater Cleveland, 250,000 less men than women saw a doctor in the last year. We want to find out why, evaluate social determinants of health care, develop a model that engages men and bring that number down.”

“UH Ahuja Phase 2 addresses patient needs in Northeast Ohio for advanced, high-quality health care,” added Dr. Dan Simon, president of UH Medical Centers, in a statement.

The new Cutler Center is expected to add 1,000 full- and part-time jobs, according to Cleveland.com, and will employ specialists in heart disease, digestive health, mental health, orthopedics and urology.

The post University Hospital Ahuja Set to Begin Expansion appeared first on HCO News.

DALLAS — Parkland Health & Hospital System has selected the Kansas City, Mo.-based firm Burns & McDonnell to provide commissioning services as Parkland continues to build out its hospital campus in Dallas. 

The new 2.8-million-square-foot Parkland campus is nearly twice the size of the old hospital on the site in Dallas County.  The Dallas-Fort Worth area experienced the largest expansion in population of any metropolitan area in the country in 2018, according to U.S. News & World Report, which means the ninth-most-populated city in the country will be in need of such expansion in the healthcare field as well. 

The Parkland hospital sees over one million patients annually, according to their website, with the medical facility offering a Level 1 Trauma Center, Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and the second-largest burn care facility in the country.  It is also the teaching hospital for the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

Burns & McDonnell’s commissioning team will ensure that the Parkland hospital’s performance is met within the parameters of the design, construction and programming criteria set forth within the project’s multiyear Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) agreement.  The firm will oversee the ongoing construction operation, test and verify all of the new systems as well as oversee new equipment rollouts after the construction phase has been completed.

Part of the Burns & McDonnell plan includes meeting LEED v4 certification, which entails not only monitoring the quality of the hospital’s air, but also working on such internal systems as HVAC, room pressurization, humidity control, emergency power supply, plumbing, lighting controls and security.

One of the first parts of the project entails the design and build-out of a six-floor, 525,000-square-foot outpatient clinic, encompassing laboratories, offices and examination and treatment spaces.

According to Parkland’s website, Parkland Health & Hospital System was founded as a company in 1894, and has since seen such growth that they are now operators of one of the largest public hospital systems in the United States. 

Parkland President and CEO Fred Cerise was quoted in the Dallas Weekly this month—on the 125th anniversary of the company’s founding—as saying that Parkland is an integral part of the Dallas County health system and “was created with the mission to care for our community’s most vulnerable residents.”

Burns & McDonnell, encompassing over 7,000 employees, is 100 percent employee-owned and was included on Fortune magazine’s 2019 list of “Best Companies to Work For.”  The company has provided more than $11 billion in new construction within the past four years.   

“We’re excited to help Parkland implement a commissioning program that will be an integral part of Parkland’s mission to provide medical aid and hospital care to area patients,” Kyle Lambert, commissioning manager for Burns & McDonnell, said in a statement.  “At Parkland, the goal is to provide high-quality, safe care for their patients through compassion, skill and teamwork. We support Parkland’s vision and are committed to delivering a comprehensive commissioning approach focused on collaboration, accountability and attention to detail.”

The post Parkland Health Expanding Dallas Hospital Campus appeared first on HCO News.

PENSACOLA, Fla. — Hospital care workers in Northwest Florida are finally going to be moving into larger spaces to meet the health care needs of the Panhandle’s population when an expanded facility for children’s medical care opens at Sacred Heart Hospital this month.  The expansion to the Pensacola hospital encompasses 175,000 square foot of space in a four-story structure — some 13,000 square feet of which was renovated space.

The expanded $85 million facility will warehouse a 72-bed newborn intensive care unit (NICU), pharmacy, rehabilitation gym, pharmacy and family-oriented dining commons.

Hoar Construction, with Florida offices located in Orlando, provided construction management for the expansion to the children’s hospital, which will now be better able to address the needs of a great number of women and children in the greater Panhandle community.  The newly enlarged facility will encompass 120 beds as well as a trauma center and NICU.  The expansion will also provide better services for patients undergoing high-risk pregnancies.  

According to Hoar, the company designed a “rack system” wherein the construction was completed in segments.  This meant that prefabricated racks could be inspected from a standing position rather than from a ladder, which lessened the hazards of workers being high up off the ground and also reduced installation time at the job site.  Furthermore, sections of plumbing and mechanical piping were tested within a controlled environment prior to installation.

Hoar’s previous work in health care construction within the state includes the West Florida Hospital in Pensacola and Bay Medical Center in Panama City.  The company reports that their workers must undergo infectious control training, entailing jobsite care to ensure that the construction area is free of dust and air particles. 

Sacred Heart Hospital is part of the Ascension health care network, the nation’s largest Catholic, nonprofit health system, according to their website.  The Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola is credited as being Ascension’s hub for care in the region. 

The post Children’s Hospital Expansion in Florida Set to Open appeared first on HCO News.

Employing the right technology can help you achieve this goal. While construction workers often use the best long range two way radio so they are able to communicate to each other day-to-day, communication and reporting also has to be present higher up in the chain among project managers. Consider using the communications technology listed below to keep facility managers, engineers, architects, contractors and other interested parties on the same page during your next expansion.

Construction Project Management Software

Using the right construction project management (CPM) software will streamline your communications, save you time and ensure that all parties are well-informed. A CPM program serves as a central location from which to manage all of your communication, planning and financial information.

You can use CPM software to coordinate schedules, keep track of to-dos and track jobsite activity. You can also use it to manage bidding, proposals, mid-project client communication, cost estimates and budgets.

You could potentially use standard project management software that is not specific to construction so long as you understand the methodology and understand you may not have the same features.

Each CPM works on a particular methodology of project management. Some might work with taskflow, others might work with OKR, or Objectives & Key Results. Several construction and improvement companies use the latter as it is often optimized towards completing short-term goals which can be used in the context of construction. Profit.co is one of the best resources for learning about OKRs if you wish to know more about this kind of methodology. Whichever project management software you choose, it is important you understand the weaknesses and strengths of the solution when applied to your construction project.

Because project management systems often run on the cloud, stakeholders can access them from anywhere and from any device. Whether you’re on a computer in the office or on a tablet in the field, you have access to the same information.

Building Information Modeling

Building Information Modeling (BIM) technology is more than just a 3-D modeling software. It combines information from various aspects of a project into one comprehensive system that anyone can access.

Architects, engineers, construction site managers and other workers can input information into the software. Through BIM, anyone can access this project information. Using a shared, data-driven system helps ensure that it stays accurate and helps integrate the many processes of an expansion project.

BIM is valuable for any type of project, but it’s especially useful for larger, more complex projects that involve extensive collaboration and precise design needs. One such project was the Martin Army Community Hospital, a 744,000-square-foot hospital and clinic in Fort Benning, Ga. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers contracted with engineering firm AECOM and other companies on the undertaking.

“This project is unique in terms of the scope and complexity and the level of collaboration necessary to meet the delivery challenges,” said Michael Sheehan, project manager for AECOM’s Design Planning practice in North America. “Our Revit models reflect not only constant communication between the civil and site survey teams but also a close collaboration with Turner’s consultants – MEP, Telecom, Parking Garage and other design assistant contractors – in several offices across the country.”

Reporting Apps

Communication between project managers off site and workers in the field has always presented challenges. In the past, clipboards, digital cameras and voice recorders were crucial to progress reporting. While these methods might convey the right information, the communication delay might make it difficult for managers to act on it.

Today, you can handle progress and activity reporting through apps that enable you to communicate in real-time. Many of these apps have speech-to-text, automatic formatting and integrated cameras that make reporting a much faster and more organized process.

The involvement of so many different parties through the many phases of an expansion project makes communication a challenge. Using the right technology can help you address these difficulties. Establishing a communication plan with as many interested parties as possible early in the project process can also help enhance collaboration, avoid misunderstandings and result in a more efficient and successful expansion.

The post Tech That Can Keep You Connected During an Expansion appeared first on HCO News.

MILTON, Ont. — Toronto-based PCL Constructors Canada Inc. recently announced the final phase of the Milton District Hospital (MDH) project expansion in December 2017, signifying the project’s completion. The $512 million expansion began June 2015 and achieved substantial completion in April 2017, with Halton Healthcare providing patient care in the new space as early as Oct. 1, 2017.

A major challenge was allowing the remaining MDH to continue to serve the community during construction, which was key to the success of the expansion. It was built to meet the increasing care needs of one of Canada’s fastest growing communities and to accommodate new technology. PCL Toronto District Manager Kelly Wallace explained how the efficiency of this project demonstrates exemplary collaborative success, according to a statement.

“Milton District Hospital expansion project is a case study for design-build excellence,” said Wallace. “Achieving total completion within seven months of substantial completion on a project of this scope speaks volumes about the collaboration and respect exhibited by all partners, which was a critical success factor in achieving this tremendous outcome for the people of Milton.”

With an air-tight, 25-month design-build schedule executed on an active hospital site, more than 40 PCLers influenced an outstanding safety culture that sent more than 600 tradespeople home safely every day, with more than 1.2 million hours worked without a lost time injury (LTI).

The MDH project brings expanded emergency and surgical services, medical/surgical inpatient units, critical care, maternal newborn and diagnostic imaging, and support services to the community. The hospital’s capacity increased from 63 to 129 inpatient beds, including 80 percent single-patient rooms for improved infection prevention and control and increased patient privacy in a quieter healing environment. A level 2A Special Care Nursery with capacity for eight bassinets in the Maternal Newborn Unit is included as well as the hospital’s first Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine.

With these additions, patients will have increased access to healthcare services, with a unit layout that puts equipment, supplies and staff closer to the patient, enabling more direct care time with patients. MDH facilities will also encourage the participation of family and friends, including pull-out sleeper beds inside patient rooms to allow a family member to stay overnight with their loved one, along with available room-service delivery on most inpatient units that enables patients to order meals by telephone from their hospital room.

The expansion comes along with the implementation of new technological systems, including an electronic patient tracking system to manage each patient’s records from the moment they arrive as well as wireless handheld devices that allow staff to communicate with both systems and people. The hospital will now use reliable networks to support clinical, communications, security, environmental, building and back office systems. The hospital is pursuing its LEED Silver certification with a sustainable building strategy, holding a mechanical design of the hospital optimizes energy usage by incorporating energy-efficient design and maximizing equipment efficiency.

Key partners of the project included Halton Healthcare (owner); Plenary Group (project sponsor, equity investor, financial arranger); PCL Constructors Canada Inc. (design-builder; Toronto); Johnson Controls (facilities manager); B+H Architects and RTKL Associates (architect); Smith and Andersen (mechanical/electrical consultant); and WSP (structural consultant). MDH was constructed using Infrastructure Ontario’s Alternative Financing and Procurement model.

“Reaching final completion demonstrates another significant milestone for the Milton District Hospital project. Plenary remains incredibly proud of the collaborative working relationship we have with all the project partners, and we look forward to participating in the ongoing success of this facility,” said Angela Clayton, Plenary’s group head, Buildings Division, according to a statement.

The post Milton District Hospital Celebrates Final Phase of Expansion Project appeared first on HCO News.

GRAFTON, N.D. — The Unity Medical Center (UMC) in Grafton announced on Dec. 15 an expansion on the 60-year-old hospital. The groundbreaking is expected to take place in summer 2018, with project completion projected for fall 2019.

The three-story expansion will have a $12 million budget, and is intended to upgrade the out-of-date facility into a modern state-of-the-art facility. The expansion will include a larger operating department on the first floor, improved and larger patient rooms on the second floor and a third floor that will be used for educational purposes, offices and mechanical rooms.

New patient rooms will feature 250 to 300 square feet of space — as compared to the current 100-square-foot patient rooms. In addition to being small, many of the current UMC patient rooms are not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities act, according to a recent article by the West Fargo Pioneer. In addition to providing more space, the new rooms will offer more privacy, and patients will no longer need to share rooms.

Larger, more private rooms will be a welcomed luxury for patients, according to Lisa Ferguson, nurse at UMC in a recent interview with WDAZ, with better accessibility to restrooms and more room for patients and visitors alike to move around, as well as offering more space for visitors to stay the night if desired.

The upcoming expansion will be the product of a planning process that began in 2015 to update the facility. Another part of the plan for updating the medical center has already been completed — UMC finished a $550,000 renovation project for its clinic in May, a project that improved privacy and office space for staff in that building.

The current two-story hospital building that houses the operating department (with original overhead lighting from 1956), patient rooms, physical therapy and rehab services will be repurposed for office space once the expansion is complete.

The post Grafton Unity Medical Center to Expand Next Summer appeared first on HCO News.

The budget for the project is $107 million, with Laughlin Millea Hillman in Louisville as the architects on the project, and Messer Construction Co. in Louisville serving as the construction manager. Audubon had more than 145,000 patient encounters in 2014, which makes it one of the busiest Norton facilities, and is a large part of what influenced the idea for this expansion, according to statement by the hospital.

The expansion includes a two-story addition that will include 74 new private patient rooms, as well as the renovation of existing patient rooms. “When [patients are] sick or when they’re coming in after surgery, people want to be by themselves and with their family,” said Jon Cooper, chief administrative officer of Norton Audubon Hospital in a recent statement.

Upgrades and expansion of the emergency room, ICU and open-heart unit are underway, and there will be an addition of three new operating rooms. The main operation room is being renovated, as well as a newly renovated lobby. There will be a new entrance to the facility in addition to a pharmacy, gift shop and cafe, with overall aesthetic improvements being made across the entire campus.

“We will continue to meet the needs of the many patients we serve as we work to build upon Norton Audubon Hospital’s long-standing history of caring for our community in a new, state-of-the-art health care facility.”

A new underground parking lot will also be added, with the addition of close to 250 new spaces.

The post Norton Audubon Hospital Marks Halfway Point for New $107 Million Expansion appeared first on HCO News.

Baskerville & Son, PC in Richmond, Va., will be the architectural firm on the project. The $4 million expansion will increase the size of the Bedford Memorial Hospital by more than 30 percent, with the emergency department expanding by 1,800 square feet. The completed emergency department will be approximately 7,500 square feet in size and will grow from 10 beds to a 14-bed treatment facility.

The Bedford Memorial emergency department sees approximately 16,000 patients a year, and saw an 11 percent increase in patient traffic between 2014 and 2016, according to Patti Jurkus, CEO of Bedford Memorial Hospital. The renovations and expansion will create more space for physicians to practice in addition to more patient beds, and it will also implement cosmetic changes and infrastructural upgrades to the facility. For this, they will be hiring professional contractors to help with the renovation, for instance, they plan to find a company that specializes in roofing Roanoke based or more local to help with the roof repairs. Additionally, the installation of advanced medical equipment will enable the hospital to better serve its patients with a higher level of care.

The hospital is taking multiple measures to prevent the disruption of patient care during the renovations. The hospital will open a temporary emergency department on the second floor of the building starting on May 18. Additionally, the hospital is increasing its staff at both the temporary and the new facility for the duration of the construction process. Three more registered nurses and multiple physicians have been hired to meet patient needs during this transition time.

This upcoming renovation and expansion of the Bedford Memorial emergency department is just one part of a series of renovations made by the hospital in recent years. Before this project, the medical surgical unit and the ICU underwent renovations as well. “We love our hospital, love our community and want to provide best service possible,” said Jurkus in a recent statement.

The post Bedford Hospital to Undergo Emergency Department Renovation, Expansion appeared first on HCO News.