Fast Growing Senior Population Creates Demand
A new state-of-the-art hospital aims to mend Las Vegas' growing pains.

by Tony Illia

As the nation's leader in heart disease and smoking-related deaths, southern Nevada has one of the fastest-growing senior populations in the country.

Sunrise Healthcare System, a unit of HCA Inc., of Nashville, Tenn., is building a new $140 million, 130-bed hospital on a 40-acre lot on Sunset Road, just west of Interstate -215, in Las Vegas.

Located in the city's rapidly expanding southwest area, the five-story, 279,000-sq.-ft. facility has room to add 115 patient beds at a later date. Kitchell Contractors Inc. is the general contractor.

"The hospital's service area has more than 470,000 residents, and is projected to grow by almost 18 percent in the next five years," said Kenneth Armstrong, CEO and president of Southern Hills.

The five-story hospital will contain a 30-bed emergency department with 22 treatment areas, 83 medical-surgery beds, 22 intensive-care beds and 25 maternal-care beds. The 78-ft.-tall, crucifix-shaped building houses the latest, most modern diagnostic and medical equipment available, including electronic medication bar coding and a picture-archiving system (PACS) that expedites image distribution time for physicians and provides a more responsive level of radiological care.

"There will be 375 workers during the height of construction," said Stephen M. Shaw, Kitchell's project manager. "Coordination between the trades and suppliers, plus the installation of the intricate medical equipment, are the job's greatest challenges."

Built on concrete-spread footings, the steel-framed structure is , clad with low-UV glass, EIFS and 22,000- sq. -ft. of sandstone.

The monolithic undertaking will require 1.4 million -sq.- ft. of drywall, 1,700 tons of steel and 9,000-cu. yds. of concrete to complete. Ford Contracting of Las Vegas is doing the drywall, EIFS and metal framing. Schuff Steel of Phoenix is fabricating and erecting the structural steel.

The building will contain $50 million worth of medical equipment.

Slated to open Jan. 8, the new 450-employee hospital will be centrally serviced by two 550-ton chillers and 14 air handlers. Hansen Mechanical of Las Vegas is the heating, cooling, and plumbing contractor.

The hospital has 500 surface parking slots, 12 mi. of curbs, gutter and sidewalk, and lush desert landscaping. Wells Cargo Inc., of Las Vegas, is the earthwork and paving contractor, with Stewart Sundell Concrete as its curb, gutter and sidewalk subcontractor.

Designed by KGA Architecture of Las Vegas, the user-friendly facility is clearly marked and easy to navigate. A 40-ft.-tall, glass-enclosed porte-cochere serves as the main entrance with a central nursing hub that greets visitors and, directs traffic through each of the hospital's four wings.

"We designed the hospital for visitors, staff, patients and physicians," said David P. Brom, a KGA principle. "We looked at how each group functions in the hospital to make it as convenient as possible."

Emergency and diagnostic rooms are placed at ground level alongside labs, enabling quick entry and fast response time to trauma patients. Birthing rooms are located above because most are scheduled appointments. Intensive care and longer-term patients are placed on the third level.

South of the hospital, MedCap Properties, a HCA subsidiary, is building a four-story, 100,000-sq.-ft. medical office complex. Kitchell is the general contractor for the medical offices under a separate contract. The $6.7 million, 56-ft.-tall building connects to the hospital by a 60-ft.-long, two-level bridge.

The medical office building is slated open at the same time as the hospital.

Southern Hills anticipates that it will see 18,000 emergency room visits, 1,800 births and admit 7,000 patients within its first year of operation.

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Fast Growing Senior Population Creates Demand