Mortenson Construction Leads $200M Modernization Project for Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital

CHICAGO, Ill. — Mortenson Construction is undertaking a three-year, $200-million renovation and expansion of Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington, Ill.

The modernization, which will add 230,000 square feet to the facility and renovate 150,000 square feet, aims to make the 169-bed hospital more patient friendly and efficient, while meeting the community’s evolving health needs, such as a growing demand for operating rooms and intensive care beds. Upgrades include replacing the double-level entry and exit with a single main entrance hall, consolidating patient services including admissions and discharges in one area and converting all patient rooms into single occupancy.

To ensure top performance, Mortenson teamed with architect HOK under an Integrated Lean Project Delivery approach for Advocate, using laser scanning to map the 30-year-old structure rather than depend on the hospital’s original construction drawings. HOK, Mortenson and their trade contractors use the scans for building information modeling, and then use BIM to identify and resolve any clashes or inconsistencies prior to the actual work to avoid delays and rework. In addition, Mortenson is utilizing prefabricated components, such as bathrooms and racks for mechanical, electrical and plumbing built offsite, which will improve quality and safety and speed installation.

One challenge is maintaining electrical power and other utilities throughout the project and reducing noise. Mortenson also will create temporary quarters for some hospital operations while it builds or renovates the new permanent locations. Good Shepherd’s medical surgical intensive care unit will be relocated, increasing from a 10-bed to an 18-bed unit when it moves to the new addition. Similarly, Good Shepherd is updating its existing operating rooms and adding eight new state-of-the-art ORs.

“Advocate’s renovation is designed to deliver more health services, more easily to its community,” says Greg Werner, vice president and head of Mortenson’s Chicago office. “The modernization is built around patients and staff, to improve care through greater convenience, comfort and accessibility. This intent is clear in every change, from rerouting the roads on its property, to simplifying traffic flow to providing wireless connectivity throughout the building, to reducing the steps from the nursing stations to patients’ rooms.”