Healthcare Design - November 2014 - 38

Getting it right
Now that St. Anthony is fine-tuned and more
patient-centered thanks to an efficient layout and
optimized care delivery, caregivers are able to
spend more time with patients at the bedside.
One notable sign of the project's success
was how the staff instantly took ownership of
the space upon move-in. "They didn't have to be
trained on how everything was laid out," Thorsen
says, "because they were a part of that whole
process."
After years of consistently low staff satisfaction,
scores for engagement jumped from 30 percent
during the pre-design process to 90 percent in the
post-design process and after completion.
"Under the old methods of design delivery, it
wasn't unusual that when providers moved in,
they would want to make changes," says John
Mess, ZGF project manager. But Lean design
methodology used at St. Anthony helped the team
sidestep that challenge. "They were able to move
right in and adapt to the new environment with no
problem. Ownership was extremely engaged in
every aspect-and they wanted to make sure [the
facility] embodied the spirit and the heart of the
community." HCD
Margie Monin Dombrowski is a writer based in
Southern California. She can be reached at margie@
margiemd.com.

Smart savings
An overall $74 million investment, the new St. Anthony Hospital and MOB
project totaled $45 million in construction costs alone. And to ensure the
budget stayed on track, the IPD team got a little creative at times.
For example, the team rented a house in town instead of staying in a
hotel, a cost-effective solution that also allowed the group to become a part
of the local community. The house had belonged to one of Pendleton's previous mayors and was used to present mock-ups of the in-progress design to
the public.
Collocating on-site one week each month allowed designers, ownership, board members, and contractors to communicate and resolve issues
quickly and efficiently, too.
For example, the team discovered that native soil on the site didn't have
adequate bearing capacity, says Randy Boettcher, senior project manager
for Sellen Construction, "which required over-excavating down through
the unsuitable soil about 10 feet to get to the bedrock-bearing layer and
backfill with structural fill to build on." It also meant the removal of 90,000
yards of soil.
The solution? Bringing the structural fill over from another construction
site nearby. "There was a parceled land across the highway where bedrock was blasted and crushed, and brought onto the site under the highway through an existing culvert on a conveyor belt. That whole concept
was brought to the project by a local subcontractor, and it represented
significant savings compared to bringing it over from off-site via truck,"
Boettcher says.
Additionally, when it was time to select a building skin, shingled slate-
the kind traditionally used as a roofing material for residential homes-
was proposed. "The mechanically fastened slate facilitated staying on
schedule and completing the skin during those winter months, when it
could have been problematic had it been masonry," adds Boettcher. Not
only did the material turn out to be a cost-effective option, but it's also
become a defining feature of the building.
Combined, these decisions saved an estimated $1.2 million and four
months off of the projected schedule.

Located on a 92-acre site with a 150-foot grade change,
the campus features a meandering pathway that's free of stairs.

HCDmagazine.com 11.14

BENJAMIN BENSCHNEIDER

helping us build mock-ups of the space and run
simulations, bringing patients from the community
through to get feedback," says Mark Gesinger,
ZGF medical programmer. "It was an all-handson-deck community event."

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Healthcare Design - November 2014

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