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Chicago – Mortenson Construction is undertaking a 3-year, $200 million renovation and expansion of one of Advocate Health Care’s major medical centers, Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington, Illinois. The modernization, which will add 230,000 square feet to the facility and renovate 150,000 square feet, aims to make the 169-bed hospital more patient-friendly and efficient while meeting the community’s evolving health needs, such as a growing demand for operating rooms and intensive care beds. Upgrades include replacing the double-level entry and exit with a single main entrance hall, consolidating patient services including admissions and discharges in one area and converting all patient rooms into single occupancy.
To ensure top performance, Mortenson teamed with architect HOK under an Integrated Lean Project Delivery (ILPD) approach for Advocate. Mortenson, a leading national healthcare builder with such recently completed Chicago area projects as the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital and Silver Cross Hospital, relies on innovative technology to streamline construction while ensuring high quality and safety.
Mortenson used laser scanning to map the 30-year-old structure rather than depend on the hospital’s original construction drawings, which generally don’t reflect changes made during construction or afterwards. HOK, Mortenson and their trade contractors use the scans for building information modeling (BIM), which involves creating detailed 3D digital renderings of all construction, mechanical, electrical, plumbing and other work. The firms use BIM to identify and resolve any clashes or inconsistencies, such as an electrical outlet placed in front of a water pipe, ahead of the actual work and thus avoid possible delays and rework. In addition, Mortenson is utilizing prefabricated components such as bathrooms and racks for mechanical, electrical and plumbing built offsite, which will improve quality and safety and speed installation.
“We really value the wealth of experience and innovation Mortenson brings to healthcare construction,” says Peter Messina, AIA, the planning, design and construction project manager for Advocate Health Care. “Equally important to us is Mortenson’s process and track record for minimizing disruptions in buildings under construction. Mortenson understands the need to put the patients, doctors, nurses and other staff first during Good Shepherd’s renovation and expansion.”
One challenge is maintaining electrical power and other utilities throughout the project and reducing noise. Mortenson also will create temporary quarters for some hospital operations while it builds or renovates the new permanent locations. Good Shepherd’s medical surgical intensive care unit will be relocated, then increase from a 10-bed to an 18-bed unit when it moves to the new addition. Similarly, Good Shepherd is updating its existing operating rooms and adding eight new state-of-the-art ORs.
“Advocate’s renovation is designed to deliver more health services, more easily to its community,” says Greg Werner, vice president and head of Mortenson’s Chicago office. “The modernization is built around patients and staff, to improve care through greater convenience, comfort and accessibility. This intent is clear in every change, from rerouting the roads on its property to simplify traffic flow to providing wireless connectivity throughout the building to reducing the steps from the nursing stations to patients’ rooms."
Mortenson’s Chicago office has completed more than $1.9 billion in healthcare projects with 7.5 million square feet. The company is among the nation’s five largest healthcare contractors, according to Modern Healthcare.
About Mortenson Construction
Founded in 1954, Mortenson Construction is a U.S.-based, privately held construction company. As one of the nation's top builders, Mortenson provides a complete range of services, including planning, program management, preconstruction, general contracting, construction management, design-build, and development. With a local office in Chicago, Mortenson has additional offices in Minneapolis, Denver, Milwaukee, Phoenix, Seattle and international operations in Canada and China.
