Joint Venture Delivers $545M Patient Pavilion at Vassar Brothers Medical Center

Construction is complete on Nuvance Health’s new 752,610-square-foot patient pavilion at Vassar Brothers Medical Center, located in Poughkeepsie, New York. The project team included Walsh Construction and joint-venture partner Consigli Construction, as well as architect CallisonRTKL. The $545-million medical pavilion is the largest-single construction project in the history of Poughkeepsie and will transform healthcare in the Hudson Valley.

The new pavilion has 264 private patient rooms, 30 critical care rooms, a 66-room emergency department, 12 surgical suites and a 300-seat conference center. The private patient rooms offer more than twice the space per patient than the semi-private patient rooms. The eight-story building was originally slated to rise only seven stories but, with space in mind and after further evaluation of community needs, another floor was added.

The pavilion’s distinctive curved shape follows the aesthetic of the adjacent Hudson River. The building was designed and constructed to not only maximize patient care and comfort, but to deliver environmental benefits, as well. Myriad sustainable design elements are featured throughout, and the pavilion anticipates to achieve LEED certification. Sustainable features include:

• Lower-level roofs are lined with varied flora to better assimilate the structure with the environment, while retaining rainwater runoff
• High-performance, dual-paneled glazing to lessen solar gain and low-reflectivity glass that will protect birds from collisions
• Low-flow faucets and fixtures with auto-off controls save an estimated 20,000 gallons of water per day
• LED lights, energy recovery and efficient insulation that will result in an estimated 20% reduction in energy demand
• Underground garage with preferred parking spaces and charging station for hybrid and electric vehicles

The Walsh/Consigli joint venture experienced notable numbers throughout construction, beginning with the removal of 100,000 cubic feet of rock along with approximately 100 carefully choreographed blasts to prepare the pavilion’s foundation and reroute utilities. Blasting through the rocky banks of the Hudson was achieved with attentive planning, communication and evaluation. The project team worked closely with hospital staff to schedule the blasts without disrupting care for patients.

Throughout the four-year construction project, the JV team managed the installation of approximately 3.45 million linear feet of cabling, 1.4 million pounds of ductwork, 200,000 square feet of metal panel façade, 775,500 linear feet of conduit, 13,000 light fixtures, 4,400 tons of steel, 30,000 cubic yards of concrete and 103,000 square feet of glass.

Vassar Brothers Medical Center opened the new ED and trauma center on Jan. 9, followed by the opening of the remainder of the patient pavilion on Jan. 11.

Photos courtesy of Brad Feinknopf.