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L.F.PENNSTATE DRISCOLL CO.LLC
HERSHEY CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL www.lfdriscoll.com
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L.F. Driscoll Co., LLC: Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital
A new, child-friendly children’s hospital is being constructed by L.F. Driscoll Co. on the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center campus, David Hendricks learns
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hen Pennsylvania State University decided to build a new children’s hospital at its medical campus in Hershey, they chose L.F. Driscoll Co., LLC, the largest construction company in the Philadelphia region, based in the suburb of Bala Cynwyd. Founded by Leon F. Driscoll in 1929, the company built its reputation through hard work and prospered in the years after the Second World War, when Driscoll was joined by his son Edward, who had returned from service in the US Navy. During the 1950s and 1960s, the company landed several large-scale projects in the Philadelphia area and beyond, acting as both general contractor and construction manager. It wasn’t long before L.F. Driscoll was also taking on projects in New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland. Today L.F. Driscoll offers its clients pre-construction services, which normally entail acting as a consultant early on, at the beginning of the design stage of a project, advising the owner and architect on construction issues such as the availability of experienced construction labor, the ability of the local construction industry to handle particular construction techniques, and the cost and availability of building materials. Cost estimates are prepared at several phases of the design process, and advice is offered on alternative design approaches and building systems. A delivery schedule is prepared, working with the owner and architect to provide detailed schedules of the design, procurement, construction and move-in phases of the project. Then as the project progresses, the schedule is monitored, looking ahead for potential roadblocks that might delay project completion and developing solutions to any problems that may arise. The work is packaged in order to eliminate overlaps between trade contracts. When the project nears the procurement stage, L.F. Driscoll management advises on the list of acceptable bidders, then it markets the project to the local construction trades, receiving and evaluating the bids from subcontractors, then recommending contract awards to the owner. L.F. Driscoll also offers construction management-at-risk services for the healthcare, higher education, hotel, cultural and sports, commercial and residential markets. Essentially, construction management-at-risk is a delivery method that entails a commitment by the construction manager to deliver the project for a guaranteed maximum price. The construction manager acts as consultant to the owner in the pre-construction phase but behaves as a general contractor during the construction phase.
L.F. Driscoll Co., LLC: Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital
“While the care provided within the current building has earned national recognition, the facilities were originally designed for adult patients rather than children and their families” In 2009 L.F. Driscoll merged with the Structure Tone organization, a New York–based firm that develops commercial, industrial and institutional properties for clients. Established in 1971 and active today in the US, the UK and Asia, Structure Tone provides pre-construction, general contracting, construction management and project management services for building construction, interior fit-outs and renovations, and infrastructure upgrades. Besides L.F. Driscoll, affiliates include construction management and services firms Constructors & Associates in Texas, Pavarini Construction in Florida and Connecticut, and New York’s Pavarini McGovern. In the Philadelphia area, some of L.F. Driscoll’s major projects include the Comcast Center, Liberty One, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, the Residences at the Ritz-Carlton, the Wachovia Center, Citizens Bank Park, and the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. Currently under construction are projects for the Academy of Music, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Marriott’s Fairway Villas at Seaview, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and of course Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital. Up to now, what’s known as the Children’s Hospital has been occupying the seventh floor of the Penn State Hershey Medical Center. While the care provided within the current building has earned national recognition, the facilities were originally designed for adult patients rather than children and their families. Unfortunately, many of the existing patient rooms do not accommodate parents who wish to stay overnight with their children. Areas such as the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit have become cramped, offering minimal privacy and no room for growth of services. The Children’s Hospital will be a $207 million, 252,000-square-foot structure, consisting of five levels above ground (floors one through five) and one level below grade (called “ground floor”). There will also be three additional floors on top for future expansion. The new building will be located to the east of the main medical center, adjacent to the center’s main entrance, and south of the cancer facility.
L.F. Driscoll is performing the construction management role for the project, and Payette and Associates, the Boston-based architectural firm that designed the new Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute facility, created the designs for the new Children’s Hospital with a meditation room, an outdoor roof terrace, a performance space in the atrium, secret gardens, teen lounges and play spaces on each floor, and an interactive learning wall. The design is child-friendly, with a look and feel appropriate for young patients and their families. The ground floor of the new facility will include a new pediatric radiology unit as well as a blood bank and pharmacy. The first floor will include an outpatient pediatric cancer pavilion with 11 infusion rooms and eight exam rooms to support bone marrow transplants and other therapies vital to treating children with cancer. The first floor also contains educational resource centers for families, including a “safety store” and areas for families to learn about childhood illnesses, health and wellness. The second floor will include five operating suites designed for surgical care of children and adolescents, an eight-bed surgical recovery area, a cardiac catheterization lab for pediatric heart patients, and expanded space for pediatric intensive care—vital infrastructure to support the region’s only Level 1 pediatric trauma center. All inpatient rooms, which are located on the third and fourth floors, will be private rooms and include space for parents to spend the night with their children. The construction scope of the project includes new and relocated site utilities, excavation, piles and foundations, structural steel framing, exterior envelope and interior finishes, elevators, plus mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection and low-voltage systems. It includes expanding the nearby parking garage to provide 935 spaces through a four-level addition to the existing garage. Key subcontractors working on this project include Rado Enterprises, Inc. (mechanical); Macri Concrete, Inc. (concrete); Howard Organization, Inc. (electrical); Cives Corporation (structural steel); and Component Assembly Systems (sheet rock). Construction of the new hospital is expected to be completed in 2012. www.lfdriscoll.com
L.F.PENNSTATE DRISCOLL CO.LLC
HERSHEY CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL www.lfdriscoll.com