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NEW HOSPITAL CONSTRUCTION
IN THE REGION
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By Linda Jarrett
A HEALTHCARE BOOM
The quality of healthcare in the St. Louis region continues
to rise with a number of new and renovated facilities on the
drawing boards of major healthcare providers.
Patients are now finding private rooms with hotel amenities,
subdued lighting, and quiet corridors —all quite a change from
the hospitals of old with cluttered wards and clanging trays
defying a night’s rest.
From western edges of our region, to the east across the Mississippi
River, medical services are easily accessible to anyone needing
them. In particular, two local giants of the medical industry,
BJC HealthCare and SSM Health Care, have significant projects
underway.
BJC HealthCare—ON THE MOVE
BJC HealthCare Planning Architect Lauren Leonard says that the
majority of construction jobs being approved are focused on
positioning BJC for the future needs of healthcare in St. Louis.
“As the population ages, we are positioning our facilities to
be better prepared to service the future needs of our patients,”
she says. “Many of the changes being developed are in direct
response to patient need. In the past healthcare facilities
were characterized by primarily semi-private rooms. Now, we
are in the process of building private patient rooms because
it is better for the patient.”
That is BJC’s goal, she says, and where the efforts in comfort
and design are going. “There is a great deal of critical thought
and due diligence included in our analysis of what we intend
to build in the future. This is especially important in the
near term as we systematically upgrade our aging facilities.”
CURRENT BJC PROJECTS
In February, the 72-bed, $75 million Progress West Healthcare
Center opened on 48 acres at the intersection of Highways
K and 40. State-of-the-art technology reflects BJC’s commitment
to focusing on the patient. “There is no limit on visiting hours
at this facility, which means families can be with patients
at all hours,” Leonard says. “Additionally for just $5 a day,
families can stay in the room and have their lunch delivered
with the patient’s.”
BJC HealthCare and the Washington University School of Medicine
are partnering in construction of the BJC Institute of Health
at the Washington University Medical Center campus (see
pages 52 and 53). As the largest project in construction now,
with a total budget of $235 million and a $30 million gift from
BJC, the 11-story research building will house biomedical research
facilities. Barnes-Jewish Hospital is tentatively scheduled
to be a tenant on the first few floors. Cannon Design was selected
as the architect, Ross & Baruzzini Inc. was selected as the
engineer, and Optimal Engineering Solutions was selected as
the structural engineer. S.M. Wilson was selected as the construction
manager and is being assisted by Interface Construction.
The $80 million St. Louis Children’s Hospital East Expansion,
started in 2003, features 90,000 square feet of new addition
and 80,000 square feet of renovation. This project provides
more patients beds, an expanded and renovated neonatal intensive
care unit, and a 12-bed dedicated cardiac intensive care unit.
Karlsberger of Columbus, Ohio and The Lawrence Group of St.
Louis were selected as the architects. Alberici Healthcare,
LLC was selected as the construction manager. The project is
due for completion in 2008.
In Alton, Ill., the Alton Memorial Hospital is in final
review of a $45 million, 89,000- square-foot patient tower replacement
scheduled to be complete in the spring of 2010. The bed tower
replacement will feature 76 private patient rooms and associated
ancillary services. Pratt Design Studio of Chicago, Ill. was
selected as the architect. S.M. Wilson was selected as the construction
manager.
The Barnes-Jewish College of Nursing will debut its $40
million, five-story, 105,000-square-foot new facility in January
2008. Approximately 650 students are scheduled to attend the
new building starting this spring, with a future total enrollment
of approximately 800. The new College of Nursing will be one
of the premier nursing schools in the country. Christner was
selected as the architect. S.M. Wilson was selected as the construction
manager.
Still on the drawing board, but due to be started the first
of 2008 is a $28 million, 70,000-square-foot expansion for the
Barnes-Jewish St. Peters Hospital. The expansion includes
18 new patient beds by the projected completion date of spring
2009, with a new inpatient pharmacy and an increase in infrastructure
capacity. In addition, the project provides for increased medical
office space and up to an additional 46 patient beds over the
next ten years.
“We have an integrated design and construction team on this
project,” Leonard says. “So the team is fully responsible for
delivery of the building.” The team includes Pratt Design Studio
of Chicago, Ill. as architect, KJWW as engineer, Tarlton Corporation
as construction manager, Murphy Company as mechanical contractor,
and Sachs Electric as electrical contractor.
MAJOR PROJECTS FOR SSM
The goal of the new Dana Brown Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
(NICU) at SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center
is to keep families close, and this $59 million project achieves
that purpose. The unit has 52 private rooms, four “twin rooms”
for multiple-birth families, and 10 new state-of-the-art surgery
suites.
Babies brought to the NICU are either premature, have heart
or lung problems, or any other major medical condition. Being
close to their families is crucial to their recovery, no matter
how young they are.
“We wanted to construct all private rooms that would allow private
family interactions, says Cardinal Glennon President Doug Ries.
“Everything was designed around that family-centered care with
the highest technology.”
Rubber floors in the corridor to mute sounds, diminished lighting,
sound barriers, and wall coverings all serve to make recuperation
easier for the patient.
“All of that is so conducive to the care of a neonate,” Ries
says. “We have found that in the move from the old area to the
new area, our kids are recuperating faster than before because
they’re in an environment that, as much as possible, mimics
the womb, because most are preemies.”
In the OR, video images are sent to specialists in other locations
for examination, allowing the surgeon to stay in surgery. This
not only decreases the risk for infection from outside sources,
but decreases the time the patient is under anesthesia. Cameras
mounted in a centralized nursing station monitor the surgical
suites.
Pre-surgery children can relax by watching movies on the wall.
“It’s a distraction,” Ries says, “and not being stressed can
make all the difference in the world.”
Cardinal Glennon draws from a 150-mile diameter, reaching to
southern Missouri and southern Illinois. “About the range of
our helicopter,” Ries says. “And we have relationships with
dozens of hospitals in Missouri and Illinois for referrals of
high risk neonates once they’re born.”
A NEW HOSPITAL FOR A NEW DEMOGRAPHIC
Last October, in a Scandinavian building tradition to bring
good luck, an evergreen was placed atop a final steel beam in
a topping out ceremony for the new SSM St. Clare Health Center
in Fenton, Mo.
The $209 million hospital, with 158 beds will replace the old
St. Joseph Hospital of Kirkwood, which, at age 65, is showing
its age. The new facility, situated on 54-acres, a former golf
course, will enable the hospital to care for over 50 percent
more patients.
Sherry Hausmann, president of SSM St. Joseph and SSM St.
Clare, says that the new health center will allow expansion
into the growing I-44 corridor. “The location made all the sense
in the world because it’s only six miles from the current facility,
and we will be able to serve our current constituents. It creates
fabulous highway access for half a million new population.”
Hausmann says they were given the challenge to recreate the
face of healthcare. “The way I look at it, it’s the opportunity
of a life time. Not many people get to design a hospital from
the ground up.”
To get their ideas, SSM joined The Pebble Project, a consortium
of healthcare facilities across the United States that adhere
to evidence-based practice.
“We also held a learning lab and invited people across the country
to come and share their ideas,” Hausmann says. “We also harvested
the best ideas from, not only our colleges across the country,
but also our staff. We have found that the answers lie in the
people that are delivering care every day.”
As a result, St. Clare will be among the cutting-edge healthcare
facilities being built, featuring 370-square-foot private rooms
with refrigerators, safes, and sleeping accommodations for family.
“We pay attention to the clinician flows,” Hausmann says. “Decentralizing
our nursing stations and using an electronic health record gives
the nurses more time at the patient’s bedside.
“We also put the medication for patients in their room,” Hausmann
says. “The number one killer in healthcare today is medication
errors. Bar code scanners on the patient armband and medication,
and the medication being in the room makes a safer process.
I haven’t found another hospital that is pulling that off.”
The project was done by Alberici contractors, who built a foam
mock-up of the operating room, patient room and emergency room
at St. Joseph.
“We were able to tweak, and involve our staff in the process,”
Hausmann says.
The health center is scheduled for opening next year.
AND THERE’S MORE
Other SSM projects under construction are:
SSM St. Joseph West—Lake St. Louis. A $6.7 million obstetrics
renovation and a $9.2 million project to add interventional
radiology services, a new MRI and pharmacy renovation.
SSM St. Mary’s Health Center—Richmond Heights. A $1 million
Women Services expansion project.
SSM DePaul Health Center-Bridgeton. A $1.5 million 16-bed
nursing unit and $7.1 million Emergency Department renovation.
THE PLANNING PROCESS
Don Wojitowski, executive director of design and construction
for SSM Health Care, St. Louis, says all projects are driven
by a master planning process that started in 2003, when they
saw the need for expansion.
“We never stop master planning,” he says. “it’s just the matter
of the variable is when you decide to execute elements of the
plan, and the master plan has to follow the strategic business
plan, and those strategies are very sensitive to market environment
and changing demographics.
“We are constantly tweaking or revisiting the master plan to
make sure that we are identifying the appropriate tool,” he
says.
Saying that the master plan is a living, breathing document
would not be far from the truth.
“It can change overnight,” he says. “You can spend a year developing
the best facility plan in the world, and then have those strategies
completely change as government regulation changes, as the player
mix changes. It’s a very volatile business.”
St. Louis and the surrounding region can pride itself on having
healthcare organizations that work around the clock searching,
planning and developing the best healthcare options available
for its population.
| THE
PEBBLE PROJECT |
When
a stone plops in the middle of a pond, ripples fan out across
the water’s surface until they reach the shore.
The mission of the Pebble Project is to launch advanced
methods of healthcare, creating ripples, and place them
on the shore of hospitals and clinics.
The project began in 2000 as a joint research effort between
the Center for Health Design, a nonprofit and advocacy organization,
and selected healthcare providers, now numbering 47.
SSM Health Care-St. Louis is a Project member, and to get
the benefit of their expertise seemed crucial. Sherry Hausmann
and her team picked the Project’s brain when they were planning
the new SSM St. Clare.
Project partners receive access to information and expertise
by meeting with other partners in the form of sharing and
learning opportunities, high-level consulting, and technical
assistance.
Those benefiting best from the Project’s assistance are
those healthcare providers whose patient load remains static,
and who are committed to doing research that benefits the
patient and staff.
“When you look at evidence in healthcare,” Hausmann says,
“it’s usually around clinical outcomes, but it’s hard to
separate the healthcare processes from that. For example,
there are good studies showing that healing views of nature
decrease the length of stay in the hospital. It’s hard to
formulate studies to meaningfully look at that sort of thing.”
Beautiful views, a quiet environment, and time with family
all work together to hasten healing time, and Project studies
have born out these studies.
“We can prove that these sorts of things actually impact
patient outcomes,” Hausmann says. “If you don’t do that
research, then it’s strictly an opinion when you’re talking
about hard capital costs and trying to prioritize spending
limited resources. What we want to do for the Pebble Project
is to turn out facts.
Hausmann says that one of the requirements for being a Pebble
Project member is having a research project after the facility
opens. “We don’t know what it is yet, and that’s how the
project attempts to advance evidence-based medicine—by sharing
that which is learned.” |
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