Emory University Hospital Adds New Heart and Vascular Facilities
By HCO Staff
ATLANTA—McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. has announced the completion of new cardiovascular care facilities at Emory University Hospital (EUH). Located on the third and fourth floors of the EUH Tower, the facility was a result of an $87.7 million investment from Emory Healthcare, breaking ground in October 2023 to expand and enhance operations for Emory Heart & Vascular’s growing patient population. The newly completed third-floor space welcomed its first patients on March 19. Additional project partners include BDR Partners as the program manager, Haskell Company as the architect and WSP as the engineering consultant.
The 80,000-square-foot facility now houses a 16-bed cardiovascular intensive care unit that reinforces patient-centered experiences and facilitates more streamlined collaboration across Emory Heart & Vascular’s specialized care teams. The world-class facility includes a new suite of cardiovascular and thoracic operating rooms, a robotic surgical room housing Emory’s Davinci Xi robot, and catheterization and electrophysiology laboratories – all fitted with state-of-the-art technology and the latest in medical equipment. The new robotic surgery room allows for more precise procedures using smaller incisions, which ensures safer surgeries and quicker patient recovery times. More details on the many exciting features of the new space can be found in the Emory News Center story here.
“This project represents another successful collaboration with the Emory Healthcare team and we are honored to have played a part in enhancing the hospital’s position as a future-focused facility with national recognition,” said Bobby Campbell, executive vice president at McCarthy Building Companies. “Working within an active hospital setting poses many challenges, but McCarthy ensured minimal disruption to hospital operations throughout all phases of construction. Our strategic approach was focused on providing an excellent product while supporting Emory’s best-in-class patient experience.”
“This reimagined space will greatly enhance the patient experience and provide an outstanding environment for our team members to deliver care,” Emory Healthcare CEO Joon Lee, MD, who is also a cardiologist, said in a statement from Emory. “For years, Emory Heart & Vascular has been considered a regional and national leader in cardiology interventions, treatments and procedures. With this expanded space, we are excited to bring Emory-level care to even more members of our community.”
In addition to the inherent challenges of working within a bustling hospital environment, McCarthy faced additional hurdles concerning the surrounding floors. The task at hand involved installing four new air handling units and two chillers, requiring extensive coordination to navigate road closures, reroute buses for equipment delivery and work around existing ductwork. Through meticulous planning and seamless teamwork across all phases – from initial planning to construction and turnover – McCarthy was able to overcome these obstacles, ensuring successful completion of the project.
“These new heart and vascular facilities will allow us to greatly enhance patient care, grow procedural capacity and access, and continue to foster innovation and excellence across the whole service line,” Angel Leon, MD, executive director of Emory Heart & Vascular, said in a statement. “I could not be prouder of our team at this moment.”
McCarthy and Emory Healthcare’s partnership began in 2012 when McCarthy was contracted to build the Emory University Hospital Tower, a $253 million and 450,000-square-foot project. The hospital tower houses several departments and services, including radiology, pharmacy, oncology, dialysis, intensive care unit and bone marrow transplant. The tower was completed in 2018 – and was awarded a LEED Silver certification and won the ENR Regional award for Best Healthcare Project. Emory University Hospital is among 10 hospitals affiliated within the Emory Healthcare system, headquartered in Atlanta.
McCarthy is one of the Southeast’s leading healthcare builders, completing more than 60 healthcare projects in the southern region in the past five years.