Medical Construction & Design
Feb. 2011
It used to be that if you lived in Southern Arizona and your child needed medical attention for a serious condition, you would find yourself in a car buckled up for an uneasy ride of at least a couple hours. But for many years now, University Medical Center in Tucson, Ariz. has been working to change that.
Imagination helps to heal – Medical Construction Design Feb 2011
NTD Architects, J. Reese Construction, Kitchell part of Makena team
Sharp HealthCare officials, Makena Medical Buildings LLC and the J. Reese/Kitchell joint venture recently celebrated the groundbreaking of a cancer center and medical office building at Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center.
The proposed center, developed and managed by Makena Medical Buildings LLC, was designed by NTD Architects and will be constructed by a joint venture of J. Reese Construction and Kitchell. The facility will measure 45,000 square feet over three stories. The first level will feature the Cancer Center. Features of the 15,220-square-foot center will include patient lobby and waiting areas, exam rooms, a resource center, doctor offices, conference rooms, nurse stations, CT scan rooms, radiation therapy chambers, and indoor and outdoor healing gardens. The design features extensive use of natural lighting, rock gardens and interior atriums to provide a comfortable spa-like ambiance in waiting, exam and treatment areas. A dual entrance design is featured to provide privacy for cancer patients receiving treatments.
A 2,000-square-foot Infusion Center may be included on the second floor as part of the Cancer Center. The Infusion Center as designed can care for as many as 10 patients with the option of lounge or private room environments. A roof garden will be constructed on a second-story deck.
The second and third floors will feature more than 10,000 square feet each of medical office space available for leasing. Each space will be built to suit for each tenant. The proposed medical office building features a unique and separate entrance from the Cancer Center.
The new building will be constructed adjacent to the existing Sharp Chula Vista Outpatient Surgery and Imaging Center. The construction team has developed plans to mitigate disruption to utilities, traffic and pedestrian flow for the functioning center, which will remain open throughout construction.