Surgical Precision

New Hospital Gives Northwest Vegas A Shot in the Arm

By Tony Illia

A new $84 million, 171 private-bed hospital is currently taking shape at Durango Drive and Deer Springs Way, adjacent to U.S. 95 and the 215 Beltway.

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Healing help is on the way for residents of northwest Las Vegas with the $100 million Centennial Hills Hospital Medical Center scheduled to open in September. It marks Valley Health System's fifth hospital in Southern Nevada, and its only acute care facility in the northwest area.

Valley Health System is a unit of UHS Inc., a King of Prussia, Pa.-based publicly traded company that's one of the nation's largest hospital operators.

The 171-bed hospital will open with a medical staff of 500 people, but could grow to more than 800 medical employees.

"The Northwest has the valley's fastest growing ZIP codes with only three or four limited-service medical offices in the area," says Kevin Stockton, the new hospital's managing director and CEO. "We hope to fill a much needed demand for comprehensive healthcare services in the area. Currently, people within a 5- to 6-mi area have to drive 20 minutes for the services we will be offering."

Sandy, Utah-based Layton Construction Co. is the project's general contractor under an $84-million guaranteed maximum price construction contract. Situated on 36.4 acres, the eight-story hospital tower will have a 150,000 sq ft dual-level low-rise with a main porte-cochere entrance and separate emergency and ambulance entries.

Designed by HKS Inc., Dallas, the entrance structure will consist of a grand lobby with wireless internet access, six elevators, terrazzo marble flooring and cherry wood paneling. Design Studio Inc. of Philadelphia is the interior designer.

The 132-ft tall cast-in-place tower will have a combination EIFS and glass skin with a dramatic full-length glazed aluminum-framed curtain wall along the southeast corner that brings natural daylight into the waiting areas on each level. The building is set atop a concrete slab and footings foundation with 26,000-sq-ft concrete floor plates. It's supported by 24-in.-sq structural columns spaced 24-ft apart with 23 cast-in-place shear walls.

"The UHS concept for these hospitals is centered on a nationwide prototype design with a good budget that achieves a nice product," says Byron Donaldson, HKS' construction manager. "Pre-cast allows panels to get poured for the low-rise while work takes place on footings and foundation. It allows for a very quick, efficient construction schedule."

Layton has utilized two hammerhead tower cranes with a flying form system that fast tracks progress on the 21-month project. The 353,000-sq.-ft. hospital will feature a 41-bed emergency department, a 25-bed women's care unit with maternity services, a six-bed advanced nursery and a 32-bed intensive care unit. It additionally will have 108 medical beds, plus cardiology and endoscopy services. Other medical offerings include radiology, respiratory and laboratory departments as well as a CT scanner, a full pharmacy and a cafeteria. There also will be eight operation and two cesarean section rooms.

"The undertaking will see 300 tradesmen and about 50 subcontractors on site during the height of construction activity," says Troy Stephens, Layton's project manager. "Coordination between the subs and delivery of the medical equipment are the job's biggest challenges."

The facility will be serviced by an 8,000 sq ft central plant with two 950-ton-capacity chillers and 15 roof-mounted air handlers for a germ-free, climate-controlled healing environment. There are two diesel-powered, 1,250-kilowatt emergency back-up generators in case of an electrical black-out.

The third and fourth floors are being shelled for future expansion. It will enable the hospital to add 80 to 90 patient beds as needed. Plans call for a possible cancer center, women's center and another patient tower to the southeast, doubling the hospital's size. There are also plans for two four-story, 60,000-sq-ft. medical office buildings on site, offering primary and specialty care.

Key Players
Owner/Developer: UHS Inc.
General Contractor: Layton Construction Co.
Architect/ Structural Engineer: HKS Inc.
Civil Engineer: Lopez Garcia Group
Electrical: GSL Electric
Mechanical: J & S Mechanical
Steel: Steel Engineers Inc.
Concrete: Precision Concrete; Silver State Materials Inc.
Other: Harris Rebar; John Jory Corp.; Southern Nevada Paving

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