New Parkland hospital hits milestones in 2013

Published: 1/14/2014

DALLAS — The largest healthcare construction project in the nation, the $1.3 billion new Parkland hospital across Harry Hines Boulevard from the existing 1954-vintage Parkland, achieved key construction milestones in 2013, according to Lou Saksen, Senior Vice President, New Parkland Construction.

“We’re on track to finish construction in August 2014 and hope to open doors to patients in the spring of 2015,” Saksen stated. Planning is well under way for moving staff and equipment, calibrating and inspecting instrumentation, and a myriad of other tasks that must be undertaken after the building is completed but before patient care can begin.

“The new hospital was completely enclosed and the large blue cranes were removed in August,” Saksen said. “Most of the remaining projects are taking place inside the hospital walls. We have started finishing floors, working our way up from the bottom. Key areas like the burn unit on the sixth floor and neonatal intensive care unit on the fourth floor are complete, and the chapel has been framed.”

With a campus covering 3 million square feet, the project includes the new 865-bed acute care hospital, outpatient clinics, parking garage, central utility plant and other support facilities. Construction began in October 2010, financed by a combination of tax and revenue bonds, Parkland’s current and future cash reserves and $150 million in philanthropic dollars donated to Parkland Foundation. Overall, new Parkland has created an estimated 3,000 new jobs during the course of the construction.

Following are some of the construction milestones achieved on the new Parkland project in 2013:

January – On Dec. 14, 2012, officials with the city of Dallas issued a Certificate of Occupancy for the new Central Utility Plant (CUP) and on Jan. 14, 2013, Parkland took official ownership of the plant from J.E. Dunn Construction Company and the CUP began providing utility support to the new Parkland hospital campus.

April – The Women and Infant’s Specialty Health (WISH) clinic structure was completed. The size of the current WISH clinic, which occupies 30,000 square feet, restricted patient volumes to about 44,000 for the past several years due to lack of space. The new WISH clinic will be in excess of 100,000 square feet, giving Parkland staff greater capacity to treat more infants and mothers.

June – Helipads on top of the new building were finished. The helipads are substantially larger than those at the current hospital, designed to provide more room for caregivers who are waiting on air ambulances to land. In addition, the helipads will have a built-in de-icing system.

July – The new 740,000-square-foot Tower Garage was awarded the LEED® Gold Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program, which sets voluntary standards for buildings. The garage uses LED lighting and a 32kW photovoltaic solar panel system.

August – The outside of the new hospital building was fully enclosed in August, with most future projects taking place inside the hospital walls as crews work to finish out the interior. The blue construction cranes working on the outside of the building were taken down.

October – The structure of the chapel at new Parkland was completed and the roof and glass were installed. To support worship flexibility, the space can be arranged with the altar and service elements in several orientations.

October – The foundation was poured for the new logistics building. This 225,000 square-foot facility will house many of the support services for the hospital. It will be the entry point for all hospital supplies and include a truck docking station and a connecting tunnel system to new Parkland.

November – Construction of patient rooms for the Burn Intensive Care Unit (BICU) was finished in the acute care tower of the new Parkland hospital. The new Parkland BICU will include 12 intensive care and 18 acute care beds; the current center is comprised of nine intensive care and 17 acute care beds.

For more information about the new Parkland hospital, visit http://newparkland.parklandhospital.com. To make a donation, visit http://www.istandforparkland.org Back