Construction team’s innovative logistical strategies minimized disruption while expanding services on the active hospital campus.
McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. has wrapped up construction of a new eight-story patient tower on the campus of Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas in Rogers, Ark. The $147 million project significantly expands Mercy’s capacity to serve patients in one of the nation’s fastest-growing metro areas.
The 275,000-square-foot new tower has added 68 new patient beds, including 17 neonatal unit beds. The project also included full renovation of the hospital’s core support services departments: materials management, central sterile, environmental services, lab and pharmacy. In addition, a two-story vertical expansion above the existing Emergency Department added five new operating rooms to the surgery suite.
The building’s lower three levels accommodate an operating room expansion, diagnostic facilities and other hospital support spaces. Patient rooms are housed on the facility’s upper levels, with shelled space on the 6th and 7th floor to accommodate future growth. A mechanical penthouse is located on the facility’s 8th floor.
Situated to the west of the existing hospital building, the new tower seamlessly ties in to the original structure at each level. Coordinated construction phasing enabled the building team to minimize disruption during the expansion while enabling the renovation of each core department to increase its overall capacity and enhance patient care.
“The McCarthy team went above and beyond to coordinate logistics of this complicated project to minimize disruption and ensure safety of all patients, visitors and staff,” said Stephen Gilbert, regional manager of construction at Mercy.
Building the new tower within the site’s tight footprint required the construction team to relocate the loading dock and key mechanical/utility components as well as to erect a temporary loading dock facility and environmental services department to serve the hospital campus throughout construction.
Other project elements included a 9,500-square-foot addition to the north side of the existing hospital to create a new front entry and enhanced gallery space. Infrastructure improvements included expanded surface parking lots at the north end of the property and modifications to the existing entry drive areas at the north and west building elevation.
The McCarthy construction team integrated advanced technology, including virtual design and construction (VDC) and laser scanning, to optimize precision and efficiency.
“Throughout the project, we worked closely with the Mercy leadership team and hospital staff to ensure this complex project progressed safely and with minimal disruption to patients, visitors and staff,” said McCarthy Project Director Tate Jacobitz. “The new tower helps meet the region’s growing demand for healthcare services and strengthens Mercy’s positive impact in the community.”
McCarthy Building Companies served as the project’s construction manager and general contractor. Other project team members included Lamar Johnson Collaborative (architecture); bTME (MEP engineering); Crafton Tull (civil engineering); Toth and Associates (structural engineering) and Heideman Associates (commissioning).
The new patient tower is part of a $277 million expansion of Mercy facilities and services throughout Northwest Arkansas. About 10 miles from the hospital campus, McCarthy recently completed construction of a new $47 million Mercy multispecialty facility in Springdale, Ark. The 63,000-square-foot center, which combines a two-story multispecialty clinic with a 24-hour emergency department, is Mercy’s largest outpatient clinic in northwest Arkansas.
Photo credit: Sam Fentress and McCarthy Building Companies.
Mercy, named one of the top five large U.S. health systems from 2016 to 2019 by IBM Watson Health, serves millions annually. Mercy includes more than 40 acute care, managed and specialty (heart, children’s, orthopedic and rehab) hospitals, 900 physician practices and outpatient facilities, 45,000 co-workers and 2,400 Mercy Clinic physicians in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma.
McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. is the oldest privately held national construction company in the country – with more than 150 years spent collaborating with partners to solve complex building challenges on behalf of its clients. More information about the company is available online at www.mccarthy.com or by following the company on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.