Healthcare

Kaiser Permanente has completed the third phase of the new Harbor MacArthur Medical Office Building in Santa Ana, Calif. Designed by Taylor & Associates Architects of Newport Beach, the three-story, 32,000-sf facility adjoins the existing structure. The entire medical complex forms a comprehensive, 80,000-sf medical facility that provides space for 24 family practice providers, a physical therapy department, a pharmacy, an imaging center, acute care services, lab and blood draw, and visual services, including an optical dispensing department.

The San Diego Cancer Center is working with Bycor General Contractors to develop a two-story, 39,000-sf medical office building in Encinitas. The $4.1-million facility was designed by architect Ware Malcomb.

Christus Santa Rosa Medical Center is planning a $4-million expansion of its San Antonio hospital. Ground will be broken on a new 9,500-sf emergency department in June of 2003. 1,700 sf of space in the current emergency department will be renovated, and additional surface parking created. The expansion will also include the construction of 15 private exam rooms, a "fast-track" area, additional beds, ICU space, operating rooms, support, and waiting room space. The project is slated for completion in spring of 2004.

Palomar Pomerado Health has selected Anshen + Allen of Los Angeles to design the $210-million expansion of Palomar Medical Center in Escondido, Calif. and the $63-million expansion of Pomerado Hospital.

Virtua West Jersey Hospital has completed the $230,000 expansion and renovation of its Stretch Center for Musculoskeletal Treatment in Marlton, N.J. The project includes a 32-bed unit designed to care for the special needs of orthopedic and neurosurgical patients.

Memorial Hermann City Hospital in Houston opened the 18,000-sf Technical Education Center on March 28. The facility centralizes training programs that were previously sited at other hospital system locations. Housing three classrooms accommodating 50 students each, laboratories for nursing, surgical technology and radiology, and faculty offices, the center provides a simulated hospital setting for hands-on training. The surgical lab contains two mock operating rooms with surgical beds, scrub sink, and overhead lights.

Medical Center of Arlington opened the first phase of its $70-million expansion project on March 29, 2003. Part of a three-year development plan begun in January 2002, the expansion includes a new main entrance and a three-story Women's Center and birthing services tower. The center features a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and all-private birthing rooms. The tower expansion project, based on a platform that supports long-term addition of extended women's services, will affect 175,000 sf and add 69 new private rooms.

Baylor Medical Center of Plano officially broke ground on its new $135-million hospital on March 31, 2003, although work on the facility actually began earlier in the year. Slated to open in mid-to-late 2004, the facility will house 96 inpatient beds, 32 outpatient beds, eight operating rooms, an urgent care center, and a chest pain clinic.

Kaiser Permanente of Santa Clara, Calif., will house outpatient behavioral medicine, chemical dependency services and administrative functions in 100,000 sf of recently leased space in Cupertino. Located near Kaiser's new $800-million hospital in Santa Clara, the facility will feature large meeting rooms.

Sutter Health awarded Skanska USA Building the pre-construction services assignment for the Memorial Medical Center north tower addition, scheduled to be built in Modesto, Calif. The pre-construction phase will begin in the first quarter of 2003. If the project enters the construction phase, which is expected to begin in May 2004, the anticipated construction value could be approximately $105 million.

The Kaiser Family Foundation, based in Menlo Park, Calif., opens its new Washington, D.C., public affairs center on March 27, 2003. The facility features a technologically equipped conference center, a broadcast studio, and a lobby with interactive displays and exhibits including a video wall. Housing 40 employees, the nine-story center will also be available for use by other D.C. nonprofit organizations.

The Smithville Hospital Authority is involved in a $21-million project to build a hospital in Bastrop, Texas, and expand its Smithville hospital. The 50,000-sf Bastrop short-stay hospital will house obstetrics, a maternity ward, an imaging center, pharmacy, labs, and physical therapy space. The contractor for the $12-million project is Austin-based Constructors Inc. Designed by O'Connell Robertson & Associates of Austin, the 22-bed hospital will accommodate baby deliveries formerly performed at the Smithville facility.

More than doubling its West Coast capacity, Cardinal Health will expand its San Diego sterile manufacturing facility by 70,000 sf. The expansion will enable Cardinal to increase its production of freeze-dried pharmaceuticals and liquid products. The project, which will provide space for an additional 125 employees, will begin later in 2003. Cardinal, based in Dublin, is a global provider of goods and services to the health care industry.

Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta dedicated its new $32-million Cancer Center of Excellence on March 3, 2003. Built using $28.4-million in tobacco lawsuit settlement funds and a $3.3-million gift from the Avon Foundation, the center is the first to open as part of the Georgia Coalition's plan to build a statewide network of accessible cancer care facilities.

Christian Hospital Northwest, part of St. Louis-based BJC Healthcare, is planning to construct a $16.8-million emergency care and outpatient diagnostic center in St. Louis. Part of a complete campus renovation, the 40,000-sf facility will house a 24-hour emergency department, a breathing center, a sleep disorders center, radiology, labs, primary care physician offices, and a community education and resource center. The ability to double in size to meet rising demand will be built into the design.