Mountain West Medical Center, Tooele, UT

Community Health Systems (CHS) is the leading operator of general acute care hospitals in nonurban markets throughout the U.S. As the sole provider of general hospital healthcare services in over 85% of its markets, CHS owns 75 hospitals in 22 states, offering a broad range of inpatient medical and surgical services, outpatient treatment, and skilled nursing care.

In December 2005, Parsons acquired META Associates, Inc. The combination of Parsons’ extensive resources and markets with META’s expertise in the domestic healthcare industry expands Parsons’ range of services and addresses the growing needs and requirements of its clients. Consistently ranked by Modern Healthcare as among the top healthcare owner’s representatives in the country, these professionals provide overall program management for the design and construction of thousands of individual healthcare facility development projects.

Southern Virginia Regional Medical Center, Emporia, VA

CHS focuses on providing high-quality healthcare for communities throughout the U.S. Since 1999, CHS corporate has worked with META—and now Parsons—providing oversight and responsibility for CHS corporate facility operations and projects for its hospital system.

Acting as the owner’s representative and as an extension of CHS corporate facilities group, Parsons ensures that CHS projects are completed on time and within budget, achieve overall project objectives, and add value throughout the process. The proven delivery methods include partnering sessions with selected general contractors early in the design phase, resulting in a successful track record of reducing construction change orders and eliminating unresolved claims with the Owner.

Shortly after CHS purchased Easton Hospital in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley in 2001, CHS began developing a Facility Master Plan to solve several of Easton’s immediate functional and operational concerns. Easton is a 369-bed acute care teaching hospital serving a community of more than 300,000 residents in six counties of Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

After completing the Facility Master Plan and a Comprehensive Facility Condition Assessment in June 2003, the team assembled an architectural and engineering design team for a major additions and renovations project. Through value engineering and scope reduction sessions with the hospital in the design phase, the initial cost estimate of the total project budget was reduced to meet the Owner’s target of $25.5 million.

New Front Entrance, Easton Hospital

In June 2005, the 35,000-square foot infill addition was completed, providing a new architectural image for an aged facility. This cohesive expansion connected two existing hospital buildings that had been separated by a city street—in addition to improving patient/visitor flow and creating much need space for registration, administration, surgery, and materials management.

The 50,000-square foot multiphased renovations began in July 2005 and are scheduled to be completed in July 2006. Throughout the expansion and renovation, advance planning meetings with the hospital and CHS corporate facilities group effectively resolved several design and logistical challenges:

New Lobby, Easton Hospital

• Added a two-story main entrance with a glass serpentine curtain wall and cascading drive-up canopies that illuminate the lobby’s atrium space, featuring an architecturally compatible exterior transition between two dated brick structures, as well as an immediate visual identity for approaching traffic.

• Created a new main entrance and lobby that centralizes the inpatient and outpatient registration functions, replacing the previous registration area that was a city block away from the main entrance lobby.

• Added a new surgical suite with a direct connection to the short-procedure rooms to supplement the existing operating rooms and remote central sterile supply.

• Constructed a new parking structure adjacent to the new main entrance.

• Maintained access across a pedestrian bridge linking two buildings during construction on both sides by incorporating the bridge’s framework into the structural system of the infill addition.

• Working with hospital staff, used simulation modeling to recommend improvements to the emergency department’s patient flow and fast-track processing, and accommodated a redesign of the department during the construction phase.

• Rerouted an 8-in. sewer main around the hospital campus during street closure and excavation.

• Working closely with hospital operations staff, coordinated 19 different utility shutdowns around hospital operations.

In addition, there are also several secondary projects associated with or on Easton Hospital’s main campus:

Rendering of Outpatient Health Center, Easton, PA

• Outpatient Health Center on Route 248 – Along with Easton Hospital and its outlying clinics, CHS also acquired an 80-acre parcel of land located deep within a thriving commercial and retail corridor, five miles north of the hospital. Parsons is responsible for coordinating the hospital, local community, and CHS corporate facilities group to develop two components:

• Develop a 5-lot subdivision, including approvals from several municipalities, to facilitate future retail and healthcare projects.
• Design and construct a 42,000 square foot outpatient imaging and surgery center on Lot 2 of the subdivision. The outpatient center on Route 248 is in the design phase and due to start construction in Spring 2007.
  
• Linear Accelerator Addition – Construction began on this $5.4 million project in November 2005 and it will be completed in July 2006. The scope consists of a new linear accelerator addition to Easton Hospital’s radiation oncology suite at the east end of the campus, directly adjacent to the existing accelerator. The design of the 2,100 square foot addition was based on the new TomoTherapy technology and includes a waiting room, change rooms, equipment room, and vault room. The project also includes relocating the sanitary and storm sewer lines and minor internal renovations to create an inpatient holding area and staff lounge.

• Cath Lab Renovation – Construction began on this $3.2 million project in February 2006 and it will be completed in July 2006. CHS purchased state-of-the-art GE equipment for installation in the newly-constructed heart catheterization procedure room and in one of the existing cath labs.

• MRI Addition – Parsons is working with the hospital in developing a preliminary design and estimate for a new MRI suite addition that would be on grade and contiguous to Easton Hospital’s Imaging Department. The total project budget is estimated at $3.8 million. Pending CHS corporate approval, it is due to be completed in June 2007.

Working with each individual CHS hospital and various CHS corporate departments, Parsons’ team provides services for management of capital development projects, master planning, architectural design, engineering design, strategic planning, due diligence assessments, facility assessments, environmental surveys, construction cost audits, program development of design standards, and maintenance programs.

Parsons provides functional, cost-effective solutions—from project inception through owner occupancy—as we help healthcare clients accomplish their business plans by developing financially justifiable, patient-focused healing environments

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