Suffolk Construction completes phase one of $296 million Baystate Medical Center project

Suffolk Construction recently joined Baystate Health in celebrating the opening of phase one of its expansion and facility-replacement project at Baystate Medical Center. The $296 million, 641,000 s/f new clinical facility houses a heart and vascular center as well as critical-care and inpatient rooms designed in collaboration with patients and families. Suffolk has already begun work on phase two, a new emergency department, which will triple the size of Baystate's existing emergency room, one of the busiest in the nation. The project is designed by Steffian Bradley Architects. Construction on the first phase began in 2008, and phase two started in summer 2011. The new MassMutual Wing features the Davis Family Heart and Vascular Center, which includes six cross-functional surgical/endovascular suites. Representing the latest in patient-focused design, a new 20-room CARE (Cardiovascular Assessment, Recovery, and Evaluation) unit allows patients undergoing outpatient procedures to go from pre-op to discharge in the same room, with the same nursing team. The facility also consists of 96 private inpatient rooms and 32 cardiovascular critical-care rooms. Suffolk provided preconstruction and construction management services for the project, which is part of a 15-year master plan for the hospital—the largest medical facility in Western Mass. The project is predominantly new construction, including multiple tunnels and bridges, with tie-ins to two existing buildings. Of the new construction, approximately 40% remains as shell space for future development. Suffolk maintained vehicular and pedestrian traffic flow while relocating sidewalks, utilities, and the hospital's main patient valet entrance. Permanent and temporary earth retention systems were required as the new building foundation was much lower than the existing adjacent buildings. The facility features its own central heating and cooling plant with three chillers, two cooling towers, and three boilers. Using Building Information Modeling (BIM), Suffolk saved significant time and money on the project. The team is also working with Baystate Health to develop 6D facility maintenance options that will best suit the hospital's needs in order to operate the building in the most efficient and economical ways possible. Suffolk adhered to the sustainable design principles of The Green Guide for Health Care and incorporated green elements, including a seven-story light well and green roof. For more than three and a half years, Suffolk worked with Baystate Health to ensure that local workforce goals were achieved. The project created an average of 300 construction jobs, and 77% of the total hours worked were by Springfield residents. The second phase of the Baystate facility-replacement project consists of a new $25 million Emergency Department to be located on the first floor of the new building. When completed in late 2012, the 70,000 s/f emergency room will be more than three times the size of the hospital's existing emergency room. The new expanded emergency department will feature 90 patient treatment rooms, including 65 adult rooms, 8 behavioral rooms, and a dedicated children's area with 17 pediatric rooms. It will also feature an updated helicopter pad, which is being moved from an adjacent parking lot to the fifth-floor roof, with an express elevator connecting it to the emergency room. Baystate Medical Center is the only Level 1 trauma center in Western Mass.; a Magnet Hospital for Nursing Excellence; and a multiple winner of the Beacon Award for Critical Care Excellence. Baystate is also a Leapfrog Top Hospital for Quality and Safety.