University of Virginia Medical Center Expansion Project Hits Major Milestone

The University of Virginia Medical Center Expansion project, designed by Perkins+Will, hit a milestone with a topping-off ceremony during which construction workers installed the final steel beam.

To best serve and accommodate patients needing advanced care, the expansion includes three main elements:

• Renovation and expansion of the emergency department to increase capacity from 43 beds to approximately 80 beds. It will also include dedicated space for mental health services, as well as additional space for a clinical decision-making unit to assess whether patients should be admitted, observed or discharged.
• Expansion of interventional services for patients needing surgeries or other procedures. Staff will be able to care for patients more efficiently by creating additional space and consolidating the interventional services on a single floor. The project will add four new operating rooms, three new procedure rooms and greatly expanded prep, recovery and support spaces.
• A six-story bed tower on top of the expanded ED and interventional space with three floors now to accommodate conversion of most of the medical center’s semi-private rooms to private rooms. The top three floors will be built as shell space for additional expansion in the future as needed.

The general contractor on the project is Skanska.