Gold Hard Hat Award

Outstanding Health Care Project

The 465,000-sq-ft St. Francis Medical Center is the culmination of years of planning, decision-making and collaboration among the owners, architects, engineers, designers, medical professionals and contractors.

The ever-growing population of northeast Colorado Springs and El Paso County needed closer, convenient and more comprehensive services. The 33-acre site at the corner of Woodmen Road and Powers Boulevard was selected for its visibility, convenience and proximity to the communities it was designed to serve.

The challenge was accelerating the design process because of a late budget release by the owner and adhering to a 26-month schedule from mobilization to the first patient admission.  It was a challenge met with two innovative solutions.

Authorizing the start of construction before establishing a guaranteed maximum price is always a risk, especially in times of steep materials escalation. GE Johnson worked with the design team to understand the design intent and establish an early construction budget. The project team pre-purchased many material items subject to significant price escalation, even before the actual design for these elements was complete. These proactive measures ensured that the early project budget was maintained  while heading off potential budget surprises.

Given the accelerated design schedule, GE Johnson proposed a modified design-build solution for the exterior skin of the building. The team used 3D modeling to design 693 prefabricated stucco panels that comprise the exterior skin. This acceleration of construction allowed the project to benefit by enclosing the building within its permanent skin ahead of schedule, negating the need for temporary enclosures during the winter.

Because of these strategies and others, the hospital was completed almost three months ahead of schedule.

St. Francis Medical Center
Colorado Springs

Silver Hard Hat Award (tie)

Outstanding Health Care Project

The Longmont United Hospital project responded to an increasing need for expansion of the existing facility. The multi-phased project included a new Emergency Department tower addition, expansion of the existing central utility plant, and relocation of the loading dock and materials management building—all to be completed within 20 months.

The Emergency Department tower expansion consisted of a new two-story, 60,000-sq-ft structure. The tower includes four trauma rooms, 23 treatment rooms, decontamination showers, psychiatric evaluation and holding area, staff work areas and a central nurses’ station.

The central utility plant addition includes an 8,870-sq-ft, two-story expansion to increase emergency power systems and switchgear, chilled and hot water production and utility extensions.

Because of the length of the job, Saunders preconstruction services had to be conscious of the possibility of escalating costs and procure the materials early. With the extensive phasing of the project, communication was key. Working within an occupied medical facility required considerable planning to prevent cross-contamination between construction and hospital areas, as well as securing the integrity of the ventilation system.

The facility meets the standards set by LEED and the Green Guide for Health Care.

Longmont United Hospital
Longmont

Silver Hard Hat Award (tie)

Outstanding Health Care Project

To support a growing community and advancements in diagnostic and treatment services, the Medical Center of Aurora embarked on a plan to add 122,000 sq ft to its main facility near Interstate 225 and Mississippi.

As the only full-service hospital in Aurora, the Medical Center of Aurora realized the need to update and expand its existing operations. The five-story patient tower added much-needed capacity, including a four-level nursing component totaling 72 beds on levels two, four and five, and a new 12-bed ICU unit on level three.
 
The nursing floors extend over a partial first-floor level to create a new covered drive-through and new main entry. The scope also included construction of a surface parking lot, pedestrian plaza, central plant expansion, boiler/chiller replacement and a new four-level, 205,000-sq-ft parking structure.

The new patient tower has a multi-level bridge connecting it to the current facility. Additionally, a major overhaul and upgrade to the central plant was required along with new chillers, cooling towers, boilers, pumps and electrical switches to provide increased service capacity for the new tower.

This complex work required extensive coordination, well-planned system bypasses, contingency planning and continuous communication with the facility’s staff. This planning and teamwork supported the goal of completing construction without impact to hospital systems, ongoing hospital operations or patient care.

Through it all, JE Dunn used dBO2 systems to provide safety reports in conjunction with onsite safety inspections and ongoing safety training.

Medical Center of Aurora
Aurora

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