Turner Construction Company announced that it has begun work on a $48 million, 95,623-square-foot vertical expansion of Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital in Murfreesboro.
Substantial completion is expected in April 2020 for the expansion of Saint Thomas Rutherford’s tower and operating room unit, with the new space expected to open in summer 2020. Three floors will be built vertically onto the existing structure and will contain 72 medical-surgical patient rooms and one open floor for possible buildout in the future. In addition, a two-story horizontal expansion will add four operating rooms, central sterile space and materials management.
The hospital will remain open during construction. Collaborating with Turner on the project is Gresham Smith, which is handling both architecture and engineering work.
Turner built the original 286-bed Saint Thomas Rutherford, which was completed in 2010, and put provisions in place at the time to minimize any utility interruptions during this planned expansion. Executed with integrated project delivery (IPD), a collaborative approach similar to lean construction, the original project was completed two months ahead of schedule with $4 million in savings.
Turner worked closely with Gresham Smith to ensure that all available measures are being taken to reduce any impact on the hospital’s existing space. In addition, Turner scheduled the project so that work within the existing medical-surgical wings below the addition will take place during a period of lower occupancy for the hospital.
To minimize noise and disruption, electric cranes will be used for the project. All construction personnel will enter the work area from a bulkhoist and will not be permitted to enter through the hospital. Temporary walls will remain in place during construction to isolate the hospital’s occupied space from the construction site.
“The safety and comfort of our patients is our primary concern, so we were pleased by the extensive amount of planning on Turner’s part to ensure that this project will allow Saint Thomas Rutherford to continue providing unimpeded service to patients throughout,” said Gordon Ferguson, president and CEO of Saint Thomas Rutherford. “We look forward to our increased capacity to provide medical care to our community once this expansion is complete.”
Turner has completed more than 380 projects encompassing more than 2 million square feet across Saint Thomas’ Midtown, West and Rutherford campuses. Turner is currently working on similar vertical expansion and overbuild work at three actively operating hospitals in Tennessee: Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt in Nashville and Methodist University Hospital and Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital in Memphis.
“We’re excited about the opportunity to continue working with Saint Thomas Health, a leader in our community that has been a great partner to us over the years,” said Paul Lawson, project executive for Turner Nashville. “It’s an honor to continue to be a part of this organization’s mission to provide high-quality health care to its community.”
About Turner Construction Company/Nashville
Turner is a North America-based, international construction services company. Since opening its office in the city in 1975 to construct several buildings for Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Turner Construction Company/Nashville has played a significant role in shaping Middle Tennessee’s skyline. Its Nashville resume includes such iconic buildings as the Davidson County Juvenile Court building, the Nashville Airport Terminal Complex, Bridgestone Arena, the Andrew Johnson and Davy Crockett state government office buildings, 14 buildings on the Vanderbilt University Medical Center Campus and numerous buildings and renovations on the Saint Thomas Hospital Campus. Among current active projects are the Hill Center Brentwood, an addition to the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt and the new Tennessee State Museum. Learn more at www.turnerconstruction.com or follow Turner on Twitter at @TurnerNashville.