Promise of New Mercy Hospital Joplin is Delivered

JOPLIN, Mo. — Demolished in the May 22, 2011, EF-5 tornado – the deadliest tornado in the U.S. since 1947 – the new Mercy Hospital Joplin is set to open its doors to patients on March 22. The $465-million (total project cost), 205-private room hospital replaces the former St. John’s Mercy Regional Medical Center in Joplin, Missouri.

“From the first few moments after the tornado tore through Joplin, staff from McCarthy and HKS were on the ground to offer immediate assistance,” said McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. President and Chief Operating Officer Scott Wittkop. The team of construction manager McCarthy Building Companies, Inc., architectural firms HKS, Inc. and Archimages, and MEP engineer Heideman & Associates joined together to assist Mercy in any way necessary.

The new 890,000-square-foot facility includes a nine-story hospital patient tower and five-story clinic tower. It houses units including medical surgical, critical care, women’s/children’s (labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum rooms), neonatal intensive care, behavioral health and rehab.

Mercy, HKS and McCarthy utilized Building Information Modeling to avoid potential issues in the field. Prefabrication also enabled McCarthy to accelerate the construction. Headwalls and restroom walls for all patient rooms built out were constructed in a warehouse and installed later in the construction process.

Safety and resiliency
The new hospital incorporates many resiliency elements to help withstand another natural disaster and provide a safe environment for patients, staff and visitors.

“The team used lessons learned from the disaster and experience working in coastal regions to design and build a safer, more secure facility,” said Norman Morgan, AIA, HKS principal-in-charge. “For example, we designed protected evacuation routes, incorporated high-impact glass and protected critical systems throughout the hospital.”

Critical areas of the hospital, such as the emergency department and intensive care unit, have windows rated to withstand 250 mph winds. High-impact, laminated glass was incorporated throughout the facility along with protected evacuation routes.

Connected to the hospital by a 450-foot underground tunnel is a 30,000-square-foot central utility plant containing all mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems. To protect critical hospital systems, the utility plant was built halfway below ground to limit exposure to the elements. The generator system will enable the hospital to operate for 96 hours if power is lost. To create ease of access to the new hospital, McCarthy also built new entrance ramps, exit ramps and interchanges for the Missouri Department of Transportation, as well as a new road leading up to the facility.

“The new Mercy Hospital Joplin exemplifies teamwork, commitment and innovation,” Ryan Felton, McCarthy project director said. “We are so proud to be able to deliver this world-class facility to the Joplin community. It’s more than just a hospital. This project represents hope, and it has been an honor to be a part of it.”

Photos courtesy of HKS.