“We are thrilled with the progress of this project,” said Ken Harman, CEO of Pioneers Medical Center, in a statement. “Our next goal is to have the building weatherproof this October. At the current pace, we are on track to open in June 2015.”

The project includes a new 10-bed acute-care hospital, a 30-bed long-term care unit, a 4,000-square-foot outpatient rehabilitation unit and a 7,400-square-foot rural health clinic. When complete in 2015, the new facility will offer the same services as before, but will feature a new pharmacy, designed to allow chemotherapy, infusion treatment and onsite prescription mixing. Additionally, the facility is adding a new pediatric care program in the outpatient area of the facility, as well as new private rooms, increased handicap accessibility, and privacy and safety features. A new Meeker Family Health Center will be able to provide more exam rooms, three procedure rooms and an area dedicated to pediatric patients.

Brentwood, Tenn.-based Quorum Health Resources (QHR) has been working as a consulting resource for the project along with health care facilities development firm AHFD, also based in Brentwood.

“Moving closer toward the completion of the replacement facility is an exciting milestone to reach,” said Bill Donatelli, vice president of western operations of QHR, in a statement. “Topping out signifies that the right investments and decisions are being made to provide outstanding health care to the Meeker community. Since the start of the project, AHFD has worked closely with the hospital’s executive team and the board, and we are very pleased to see it progressing both on time and on budget.”

The total project will cost about $47 million and is being funded from reserves, a bank loan, grants and donations. The facility is coming together with the design from Denver-based architect Davis Partnership, and Haselden Construction in Centennial, Colo., is the general contractor.

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Omaha, Neb.-based HDR Inc. served as the architect, while Centennial, Colo.-based Haselden Construction LLC served as the general contractor. J.R. Butler Inc., based in Denver, was the glazing contractor that worked with glazing systems manufacturer Wausau Window and Wall Systems from Wausau, Wis. — both of which were heavily involved in the design-assist process.

The new tower more than doubles the size of the previous emergency department, which now takes up 56,000 square feet on the first floor. Neurology, cardiology, oncology, acute and critical care are on individual floors. A new rooftop landing pad and dedicated trauma elevators are also available for patients to be transported by helicopter.

The tower’s design features a high-performance, serpentine curtainwall with sun shades, which greatly help the building achieve energy efficiencies required to earn LEED Gold certification.

“Wausau Window and Wall Systems’ 7250i-UW unitized curtainwall system is factory-glazed for long-term weather resistance and speed of installation. The thermally broken frames, along with high-performance, low-e, insulating glass, provide enhanced energy performance and condensation resistance,” said Lisa May, LEED Green Associate, health care market manager for Wausau Window and Wall Systems. “The high visible light transmittance vision glass connects the occupants to the outside, providing views and exploiting natural daylight. Wausau’s ClearStory exterior sun shades make an aesthetic statement and reject solar heat gain.”

Construction on the project began in early 2011 to serve an immediate need for additional patient space. Since 2007, ambulances had been regularly diverted to other medical facilities due to lack of room.

The project team used several techniques to speed up the construction process. For instance, they used finite element thermal modeling to analyze the thermal performance of certain frame-glass combinations, which helped the team select the appropriate glass makeup for the design. They also saved time by creating the curtainwall shop drawings and the construction documents at the same time.

“To overcome the timeline, the curtainwall subcontractor was brought on board during the design phase,” May said. “During the design phase, the team discussed constructability issues, provided design-assist services, evaluated value engineering options and maintained the curtainwall budget as the design progressed.”

SuperWall was installed on the ground floor while unitized curtainwall was modified as a ribbon window system for the third floor. Created within the curtainwall design, the sun shades use a double bracket that can be attached prior to installation, which also helps save time in the field.

Because of efficient collaboration, J.R. Butler completed the curtainwall five weeks early, and construction on the building took only 22 months.

Undergoing a four-phase development that started in 2000, the UCH campus will eventually include more than 750 beds and consist of approximately 2 million square feet with a construction value of about $400 million. When completed, the campus’ master plan will have a construction value of more than $2 billion.

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