New Hospital Helps Mend Las Vegas' Growing Pains

by Tony Illia

Valley Health Systems LLC, a subsidiary of King of Prussia, Pa.-based Universal Health Services, is building a new $70 million, 300,000-sq.-ft. facility on a 35.5-acre site at South Rainbow Boulevard and Hacienda Avenue.

And it's needed. With roughly 4,000 new residents a month, the city's nine area hospitals are filled to capacity with one bed per every 427 people. (The standard is a bed per every 345 people.) The rapidly expanding southwest area of town, which currently has 200,000 residents, is expected to triple in size over the next three years.

"We believe there will be enough demand to sustain the hospital," said Michael Marquez, vice president of acute care for Universal Health Services' western region. "We have evaluated the projected growth and we have long planned this facility."

The four-story, 176-bed "Spring Valley" hospital is a 15-month fast-track undertaking, requiring 310 tradesmen during the height of construction. McCarthy Building Cos., of St. Louis, is the general contractor.

Scheduled to finish by Oct. 1, the new hospital gives UHS 1,093 beds in Las Vegas, including its three existing facilities: Desert Springs Hospital Medical Center, Summerlin Hospital Medical Center and Valley Hospital Medical Center.

John Frye, McCarthy's Nevada president, said the toughest part of building the Spring Valley facility has been the schedule. "There are three areas being built simultaneously," he added.

The project's compressed schedule required strategic staging and design. For instance, two-thirds of the hospital's square-footage is at ground level. Directly south of the tower, an 110,000-sq.-ft. concrete tilt-wall structure houses some of the hospital's most important functions, including diagnostic and treatment rooms.

The tilt-wall method enabled work to begin early in the intricate, labor-intensive rooms.
Meanwhile, progress on the 59-ft.-tall, pour-in-place concrete tower took place.

Using 18- to- 22-in. columns, the building has a unique step-back design, enabling a quick erection time. The third and fourth stories can be expanded in the future to give the hospital 210 beds.

HKS, Inc. of Dallas, is the architect with Nicholas J. Nowicki Ltd., of Las Vegas, as associate architect. The tower connects to the tilt-wall low-rise to form two outdoor courtyards, totaling 9,000 -sq. -ft.

The hospital houses surgery rooms, emergency suites, a neonatal intensive care unit, 26-bed women's center, outpatient services, 40-bed intensive care unit, cardiac program, radiology services and more. The two-tone tan-colored structure is clad with glazing and EIFS.

The monolithic job required roughly 1,554 truckloads of concrete to complete, which is enough concrete to pave 3,108 driveways.

Anaheim, Calif.-based Bomel Construction Co., Inc., was the concrete contractor, and All-Star Transit Mix Inc., of North Las Vegas, and Nevada Ready Mix Inc., of Las Vegas, are the suppliers.

The hospital additionally needed 1,016 tons of reinforcing steel to complete, or enough to build 40 armored tanks. Steel Engineers Inc., Las Vegas, was the supplier-erector.

Once finished, the facility will have 5,078 light fixtures, 189 television sets, and 190.7 mi. les of wiring and conduit. North Las Vegas-based All-Electric is the electrical contractor.

The hospital, which only occupies 14 -percent of the site, has 962 surface parking spots, four canopied entrances and perimeter landscaping.

Las Vegas-based Southern Nevada Paving Co. is the earthwork-paving contractor. New-Com Inc., of North Las Vegas, installed utilities and Nevada Roseland Inc., of Las Vegas, is the landscaper.

Under a separate $5 million contract, McCarthy is additionally constructing a three-story, 60,000-sq.-ft. medical office building, directly north of the hospital.

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