By Lori LovelyCEG CORRESPONDENT

Two years after acquiring stateapproval, St. Francis Hospital inColumbus, Ga., broke ground onits $115 million expansion inOctober 2011, the largest in its 60-year history. Robert Granger, St.Francis president and CEO, toldthe Columbus Ledger-Enquirerthat the time was spent “workingthrough getting the financingarranged and the final constructionplans drawn.” The hefty price tagcovers the cost of construction andinstallation of medical and officeequipment.Skanska USA will complete the

new construction and renovationof the main hospital by August2013. Skanska USA, based in NewYork, consists of several divisions.Skanska USA Building specializesin building construction, but otherdivisions are involved with civilinfrastructure partnerships anddeveloping public-private partner-ships as well as commercial devel-opment projects in select U.S. mar-kets.The contractor took out a build-

ing permit on Aug. 23 from the cityof Columbus for the first portion ofconstruction (the four-story clini-cal services tower on the back sideof the main hospital), expected tocost nearly $37 million. A permitfor the five-story, medical officebuilding was taken out a fewweeks later.

Blueprint for HealthcareThe expansion includes a four-

story 188,368-sq. ft. (17,500 sq m)clinical services building and afive-story, 166,840-sq. ft. (15,500sq m) medical office building. Theaddition of more than 375,000 sq.

ft. (34,838 sq m) to the hospital’smain campus will give St. Francisjust under 1 million sq. ft. (92,903sq m) of space on its 35-acre med-ical complex at the corner ofManchester Expressway andWoodruff Road. Its medical facili-

ties currently comprise about600,000 sq. ft. (55,741 sq m).The two new towers are pretty

straight-forward, unadorned steel-framed “boxes” with brick exteri-or, explained Tracy Hunt, vicepresident of operations of Skanska

and project director on site. Theywill be attached with a commonatrium showcasing architecturalfeatures.The tower adjacent to the exist-

ing facility will house a dedicatedcardiovascular surgical unit with

four catheterization labs, a specialprocedures room, a nuclear medi-cine suite and 30 prep and recov-ery bays. It will offer spacious newprivate rooms, expanding the num-ber of private rooms to 248. Thehospital currently has 75 private

and 110 semi-private rooms. “It will be an all-private room

facility,” Granger told a ColumbusTV station. “You will no longerhave a roommate when you cometo St. Francis. We’ll be the only fullservice hospital in the community

that has all private rooms.”The second tower will house the

Cardiac and Women’s Centers ofExcellence and include a new 324-seat auditorium. Renovation of themain hospital will result in anexpanded emergency room three

times the size of the previous ER,including 20 new patient treatmentrooms and an expanded surgicalsuite with seven additional operat-ing rooms. “Since we’re the area’s cardiac

hospital, the expansion will alsoenable us to have a dedicated car-diovascular intensive care unit andtreatment center in one facility,”said Granger. “We’re redoing thecardiac program, giving it a brandnew home, redoing the emergencyroom, creating a dedicated cardio-vascular intensive care unit. This isabout our core services and need-ing private rooms for our coreservices.” Due to the proximity of the

structures and good access, Huntsaid crews are able to use a crawlerinstead of tower cranes. However,because the towers are adjoined tothe existing hospital, constructionis challenging in other ways. “The hardest thing about this

project is working around theexisting hospital,” Hunt explained. Concern focused on “public

flow” in corners of the existingbuilding, as well as noise, vibrationand dust.In preparation for major demoli-

tion to open up the existing struc-ture, crews performed surveys,took photos and made extensivenotes, but the key, Hunt claimed,was getting the right subcontractorinvolved. Even so, he said theyhave to remain flexible. “If things get too noisy, we have

to stop.” Fortunately, Hunt noted,“Skanska has enough experienceworking on hospital projects thatstoppages were factored into theschedule. It’s a hard-and-fast dead-line. We work sunup to sundownsix days a week, but we may have

St. Francis Hospital Expansion Just What the Doctor Ordered

GEORGIA STATE EDITION A Supplement to:

Your Georgia Connection: Rich Olivier, Atlanta, GA • 1-800-409-1479

“The Nation’s Best Read Construction Newspaper… Founded in 1957.”Bainbridge

Macon

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Cuthbert

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Waycross Bruns- wickPearson

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Skanska USA will complete the new construction and renovation of the main hospital by August 2013.

see HOSPITAL page 2

February 222012

Vol. XXIII • No. 4

“Since we’re the area’s cardiac hospital, the expansion will alsoenable us to have a dedicated cardiovascular intensive care unitand treatment center in one facility. We’re redoing the cardiacprogram, giving it a brand new home, redoing the emergencyroom, creating a dedicated cardiovascular intensive care unit.This is about our core services and needing private rooms for ourcore services.”

Robert GrangerSt. Francis Hospital

Page 2 • February 22, 2012 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Georgia State Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide

to do some of the work off-hours or at nightif there’s too much noise or vibration.”Rainy weather has further complicated

plans, but Hunt said work remains on sched-ule. While site work and utility contractorswere on site over the winter, Hunt said therewere anywhere from 45 to 60 people work-ing, but once the structure is up, that numberwill increase to more than 300 per day. “We’ll have a concrete crew, a shoring

contractor to hold up the building becausewe’re cutting the ground 30 feet, a caissonscrew for the deep foundation, and smallplumbing and electrical crews,” Hunt stated.A significant amount of dirt work has

already taken place. To create a new parkingarea, crews cut 5 to 6 ft. (1.5 to 1.8 m) overa three-acre area. In addition, the buildingpad, which sits on the side of a hill, requiredcutting up to 30 ft. (9 m). “We moved a lot of dirt.” Hunt exclaimed.

“When we were doing the pad, we had 400to 450 dump trucks a day for about a monthand a half.” The good topsoil is being stored, awaiting

return as needed for backfill.

For the Community’s BenefitThere also are plans to set up an obstetrics

program to start delivering babies, in com-petition with Columbus Regional HealthcareSystem, which operates The Medical Centerand Doctors Hospital, according to theColumbus Business Chronicle.Although St. Francis received approval

for the obstetrics program from the GeorgiaDepartment of Community Health in March2010, the Medical Center, Doctors Hospitaland Phoebe Sumter Medical Center inAmericus, Ga., filed appeals. They claimanother baby ward is unnecessary and couldimpact patient safety and physician recruit-ing. The appeal is still pending. Grangeranticipates litigation to be settled sometimenext year. “My lawyers tell me we can’t lose,” he

told local media. “We believe without anyquestion that we will be moving forward inthe obstetrics area.” The hospital CEO pointed out that the

expansion was planned well before theobstetrics program was launched. The hospi-tal is 60 years old and needs to be updatedand enlarged. “This is a huge project, around 90 percent

of which is related to the existing St. Francisservices, a very small portion of which maysomeday be devoted to obstetrical services.”Granger insists that the community will

be the primary beneficiary of the expansion. “We’ll be able to expedite the care of heart

patients coming to St. Francis and offer allpatients more private rooms for their com-

fort and to help accelerate their recovery.Patients will have shorter wait times in ourER once this project and renovation of ourmain facility is complete. We’re committedto bringing world-class healthcare toColumbus and we need a world-class facili-ty to do that,” Granger said.According to Martha Bickerstaff, chair of

St. Francis Hospital’s Board of Trustees, theexpansion and renovation projects are indirect response to the community’s growingneeds, as well as the physicians’ desire to

provide the community with the safest, bestpossible care.In addition to assisting the hospital in pro-

viding better service, the expansion has thepotential to offer the community more jobs.The hospital currently employs nearly 2,000full- and part-time workers. Granger told theColumbus Ledger-Enquirer he expects St.Francis to grow its work force by a “fewhundred jobs” over the next several years.He said the expansion is expected to create“150 new permanent jobs, and an annual

payroll of $6 million.”Because St. Francis partners with

Columbus Technical and Columbus StateUniversity and financially supports theirnursing programs, the hospital often hiresnurses after graduation. Granger said that 15new nursing graduates have been hiredevery six months for the last year and a half.With the expansion of its cardiac services,there’s potential for even more jobs becauseSt. Francis will be able to implement proce-dures that local residents have previouslyhad to seek in Atlanta.The physicians and nurses are excited

about getting a state-of-the-art facility,Granger indicated. “We’ll have a completely brand new,

rebuilt facility, as good as new and ready toserve the community for the next three tofour generations.”At that time, if another expansion is need-

ed, he said the two new buildings canaccommodate four additional floors.

(This story also can be found onConstruction Equipment Guide’s Web siteat www.constructionequipmentguide.com.)CEG

Skanska USA Leads $115M Hospital Expansion Project

Two years after acquiring state approval, St. Francis Hospital in Columbus, Ga., broke ground on its $115 million expansionin October 2011, the largest in its 60-year history.

HOSPITAL from page 1

“Skanska has enough experience working on hospitalprojects that stoppages were factored into the schedule. It’sa hard-and-fast deadline. We work sunup to sundown sixdays a week, but we may have to do some of the workoff-hours or at night if there’s too much noise or vibration.”

Tracy HuntSkanska USA

Construction Equipment Guide • Georgia State Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • February 22, 2012 • Page 3

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Page 6 • February 22, 2012 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Georgia State Supplement •

Tractor & Equipment CompanyHosts Open House in Kennesaw

Winner of the excavator “slam dunk” competition was Chris Neal(C) of Milton Mayeske & Sons Grading, Douglasville, Ga., who waspresented a Benelli 12-gauge shotgun by TEC’s Mack Brice (L) andCurt Cook.

A great crowd of about 400 guests turned out forthe TEC Open House event in Kennesaw, Ga.

Operating a Komatsu PC88MR, Doug Marshall,Caffrey Construction, Hiram, Ga., achieves a total timeof 31 seconds in the excavator “slam dunk” contest.

Waiting for the start command at the “slam dunk” com-petition is Jason Embro of JJE Constructors, Alpharetta,Ga.

Tractor & Equipment Company (TEC) hosted anOpen House on Jan. 26 at its Kennesaw, Ga.,branch. A terrific attendance of approximately 400

guests turned out to enjoy a catered barbecue lunch byWilliamson Bros. and wings served up by the Hootersgirls of Kennesaw. TEC management representativesfrom Georgia and Alabama were in attendance to showtheir appreciation for their valued customers. Lots of man-ufacturer representatives turned out to support the eventand “set up shop” with displays to showcase their prod-ucts and services. A seemingly endless supply of doorprizes were awarded throughout the day as live musicplayed.

see TEC page 7

TEC’s Mack Brice (L), and Mike Kemmerer (R) enjoy a bit of post-lunch chat with customersMichael Hill (center left) and David Eley (center right), C.W. Matthews Contracting Co., Marietta, Ga.

Construction Equipment Guide • Georgia State Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • February 22, 2012 • Page 7

The open house was a great time for customers and friends to come together (L-R) including Chris Collier, Atlanta Paving &Concrete, Doraville, Ga; Greg Farr, TEC product support sales representative; and Tom Hannafin, Cyclone Land Development,Atlanta.

(L-R): TEC’s Kennesaw branch manager, Mack Brice,meets and greets municipality customers, Bill Eckel,Dekalb County, Ga., fleet superintendent; and CharlesGill, Dekalb County superintendent of sanitation.

Representatives of Solesbee’s Equipment and Attachments turned out to join theirdealer. (L-R) are Mark Pillash, Solesbee’s; Chad Stracener TEC vice president ofproduct support, Ga.; and David Jenkins, Solesbee’s.

Looking over a Vogele Vision 5203-2 paver on display atthe Open House event are Rick Blackburn Jr. (L), and Sr.,of Baldwin Paving, Marietta, Ga.

Tremendous support for the event came from manufacturer representatives (L-R) including Frank Plotts,Fecon, Inc.; Lynn Prescott, Etnyre; Mark Allison, Gradall; Kelly Graves, Wirtgen America-Kleemann; and LarryFoltz, Komatsu America district manager..

For the equipment operator, an excava-tor “slam dunk” competition was set up totest the skills of the “best of the best.” AKomatsu PC88MR excavator was used forthe event in which contestants had to scoopthree basketballs off the top of three trafficcones, dunk them individually into a trashcan and bring the bucket back to theground at the starting position. Soundseasy, but when the stopwatch began, it wasa race against time. Finishing the competi-tion in a “blistering” 18 seconds was ChrisNeal of Milton Mayeske & Sons Grading,Douglasville, Ga., who won a Benelli 12-gauge shotgun for his stellar efforts. A sec-ond Benelli 12-gauge shotgun was award-ed to a lucky winner as the grand prizedrawing.

TEC from page 6

Page 8 • February 22, 2012 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Georgia State Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide