Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Braselton Begins Serving Community

BRASELTON, Ga. — The integrated project team for the 100-bed Northeast Georgia Medical Center Braselton, scheduled to be fully operational on April 1, has successfully delivered the project two months early. The integrated project team for owner Northeast Georgia Health System was led by the project management firm Lawler-Wood, LLC, designed by Hammel, Green and Abrahamson, built by Turner Construction Company and engineered by Perry Crabb.

The team integrated the project with NGHS’ “Quest for Excellence” culture, with a mission to drive out waste at all levels. As a result of successful collaboration between the team, local community and NGHS, the facility was completed early and under budget, bringing exceptional healthcare directly to the Greater Braselton community.

The hospital was designed to be energy-efficient in its use of environmental and human resources. Using Evidence-Based Design principles, the floor plan and technological enhancements will allow for smarter workflows for physicians, nurses and staff, and will enhance efficient communication among multiple locations.

“For this project, we placed a great emphasis on engaging the right team, and set high standards for collaboration, sustainability and environmental design,” said Rudy Lonergan, director of facilities development for NGHS.

By the numbers:

• Opening with 100 beds, the hospital is designed with capability to expand to approximately 350
• Construction cost to build: $116 million
• 119-acre medical campus that allows for future expansion and creates a healthcare destination for residents of Barrow, Gwinnett, Hall and Jackson counties
• 237,700-square-foot, three-story hospital, plus 113,500-square-foot MOB
• Groundbreaking in December 2012

A key focus was to create a positive economic impact in the area, including the use of local employees and subcontractors.

• Almost 50 percent of trade workers and vendors on the project reside in Hall County, the county in which the project is located, and the NGHS service area (that equates to $40 million)
• HGA worked with focus groups and conducted online research, with more than 1,000 community residents providing input into the hospital campus design at the start of the planning process

The project emphasized Lean construction techniques, collaboration among all partners, progressive innovations and design elements that challenged traditional standards of hospital design and construction.

Lonergan added, “We saved costs in a number of ways, including a heat pump system that will save us $8 million and prefabrication of the bathrooms in an off-site facility, which saved 10 to 20 percent. We also were able to divert almost 90 percent of construction waste from landfills, more than 3,200 tons of material.”

The team will deliver the first LEED-Healthcare GOLD hospital in Georgia, and one of the first in the country. The medical center’s “Zero-Plus” design strategy aims for sustainable results that target energy efficiency and conservation, while also looking at how energy can be generated and reclaimed.

• The energy-efficient geothermal system significantly reduces the project’s energy requirements and will save NGHS more than $8 million over the next 30 years
• Geothermal Ground Source Heat Pump system in lieu of a standard legacy Central Energy Plant
• Estimated energy use intensity EUI (kbtu per square foot per year) of 106 EUI, 65 percent less than existing hospitals in the area, avoiding about 5,000 tons of carbon dioxide
• No fossil fuels will be burned on site, except for cooking and emergency power
• Use of low-flow fixtures will result in water consumption savings of more than 600,000 gallons per year and the use of “purple pipe” re-use water for HVAC make up will save 150,000 gallons per year of potable water

The five-story MOB connected to the new hospital opened Jan. 15.