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The sound of sirens with flashing lights. Concerned looks from family and friends. Attention from experts trained to quickly address a broad range of needs. When the services of a top Emergency Department are required, no one wants to stop and think about what went into building the hospital where it is located. Fortunately, no one has to – that’s Pepper’s job, in partnership with clients like Advocate Health Care (AHC).
For the past 30 years, Pepper has consistently worked to elevate a strong relationship with the company now known as AHC. One of our most recent projects together was the multi-year, multi-phase expansion and renovation of the Emergency Department at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, Illinois.
The Adult Emergency Department (ED) renovation modernized and expanded the Level 1 trauma and resuscitation center from eight to 12 rooms, and increased emergency stations from 42 to 70. Newly enhanced clinical areas supporting the ED include radiology, endoscopy, heart catheterization labs, recovery areas, triage, a cast room and a transesophageal echocardiogram station. The project also added trauma, non-trauma and fast-track treatment areas, and recovery spaces. Overall patient flow was improved, and a Pediatric Emergency Department was established.
The renovations have helped Advocate Health Care better meet emergency services needs in the Southland, the South and Southeast sides of Chicago, and Northwest Indiana. Originally built to accommodate half the number of its current 100,000 annual visits, the department was overcrowded and underequipped. As the only Level I trauma center in the region and the busiest one in Illinois, Advocate Christ Medical Center also serves as a resource hospital for Illinois Region VII during disasters. This makes the expanded ACMC Emergency Department vital to providing high-acuity patients with timely, superior medical attention while patients with life-threatening injuries are moved efficiently through triage and treatment.
A strong performance contributes to a healthy relationship
As part of this 30-year partnership with AHC, we continue to look for ways to improve and innovate with each new opportunity. To track our progress, AHC uses a Contractor Annual Evaluation Scorecard.
Annually, AHC meets with all their individual design and construction partners to discuss each team’s performance over the prior three years. Below are some innovative approaches our team applied to specifically enhance our approach to meeting and exceeding these metrics:
At the end of the ED renovation project, Pepper surpassed our team’s goal and received our highest score in the history of our work with the AHC organization.
“We’ve been partners with Pepper Construction for a long time and this was one of our biggest projects,” said Laura Parisi, Design Manager – Planning, Design and Construction Advocate Health Care. “Over the course of eight years, the team touched 100,000 square feet, affected 15 departments and completed $60 million in capital improvements.”
Completing an ED with an IPD – A lot of letters for a lot of value!
The ED expansion was the first Interior renovation project completed under an Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) contract for AHC. An IPD method is a contract approach that uses a single contract for both Design and Construction partners, with a shared risk/reward model that aligns the entire team around several owner-originated goals.
With fully invested partners, the ED renovation project returned approximately $1 million to AHC, reinforcing that quality healthcare projects can be successfully executed using an IPD method.
What are the benefits of IPD?
- Fosters inclusivity and collaboration
- Helps break down divisive silos between the design team, general contractor and trade partners while elevating transparency, trust and accountability
- Provides feedback on construction costs
- Incorporates site investigations throughout the design process
- Includes an incentive compensation layer – including project fees at risk – for all partners and returns savings to the owner
- Success hinges on the owner's commitment to the entire project team early in the process, including transparency about the maximum allowable project costs
- Promises a project that is delivered for the original desired cost, along with other defined value-driven metrics for the owner.
An impact felt inside and outside the hospital’s doors
The new Advocate Christ Medical Center Adult Emergency Department expansion ensures patients receive the highest quality care. With new state-of-the-art equipment and added space, AHC can improve patient health and continue to attract quality staff. In addition to obtaining our best scorecard yet, Pepper is proud to have played a role in delivering a full spectrum of emergency medical care to serve this community and patients throughout the region.
Credits
Locations: Oak Lawn, IL | Owner: Advocate Health Care | Client: Advocate Christ Medical Center
