IMEG is currently providing mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection engineering design and services to support St. Francis Health System in their planned renovation and expansion of the existing St. Francis Hospital South Campus. Features of the updated facility, once complete, will include:

  • A new patient bed tower adding 120 new beds
  • Relocation and construction of a new Central Utility Plant
  • Renovation of the existing North Wing, including expanding surgery services add to eight operating rooms, consolidation of the pre- and post-anesthesia units, and expansion of inpatient physical medicine and rehabilitation services
  • A new main hospital lobby
  • New campus kitchen and dining hall
  • Addition of a linear corridor connecting the main lobby, the patient bed tower, the emergency department, and the parking garage

IMEG worked with the project team to develop schematic layouts and evaluate pros and cons of several alternate CUP locations and configurations, including one story, two story, attached to the hospital, and remote configurations. The CUP’s footprint allows for the installation of additional equipment to increase capacity as the campus grows and expands. The design and construction requires utility distribution coordination throughout the campus to properly fit in with existing infrastructure and site conditions.

This multi-phased project will be delivered with multiple bid packages, beginning with a new Central Utility Plant (CUP) on the northeast corner of the existing property. Designing with sub-phases in mind allows areas such as loading dock and logistics to remain operational throughout construction. Additionally, interim and temporary infrastructure has been planned to eliminate system shutdowns between phases

Design Team Leader and Collaborator: The IMEG team has been involved in the project since the campus master planning phase, and has served as a leader throughout the design process. Our invaluable experience and knowledge particularly related to approach, phasing, and operations was invaluable to the Owner, bringing innovative options to the table during project planning.

Through a collaborative effort between IMEG, the Owner, and the rest of the design team, we have been able to address several significant issues identified by the Owner, such as the existing domes-tic hot water distribution system, and incorporate solutions early on in the planning and design process. The IMEG team has also been extremely active on-site throughout design conducting site investigations, meetings, and presentations to executive hospital leadership. Despite the design team’s location in the Midwest, proximity to the job site was easily overcome to be a regular, reliable presence for the Owner. Our staff are slated to oversee the project through substantial completion and closeout, including monthly site visits during construction.

Key Systems Design: Engineering design features varied greatly to support the unique needs of each South Campus facility. The new CUP consists of a water-cooled chiller plant and hot water boiler plant, sized for future campus load in addition to future building considerations. The heating water system and chilled water system are both variable primary, variable secondary distribution systems whose primary pumps are located in the CUP with secondary pumps in the North Expansion and South Tower Addition, respectively. Electrically, a complete replacement of the existing Emergency Generator system in the CUP was required, and will feature two 2000KW, 4160V standby emergency generators, alongside a paralleling switchgear, and 4160V site distribution and unit substation distribution for the new CUP, existing hospital, and bed tower. All systems have been optimized for peak performance. Addition-ally, a centralized campus fire pump, plus a water softening system, are both located in the CUP with connections to the campus utility infrastructure.

The north tower expansion is designed with a 180F heating water loop system, which allows the existing (out of scope) area of the hospital to remain in proper operation. The South Tower expansion is designed with a 140F heating water loop system, which allows the high-efficiency condensing boilers at the CUP to operate at optimal efficiency. Domestic hot water heating is achieved via decoupled domestic water heater systems in the North Addition and South Towers.

The surgery department, central sterilization, and pharmacy departments are all served by air handling units with sub-cooling capacity to ensure lower space temperatures while not sacrificing space humidity. A dedicated pure water system was designed to provide ultra pure water to the central sterilization equipment.

To support all campus buildings, a complete replacement of the existing secondary metered 15KV electrical services was required to tie in with the new remote Central Utility Plant. Designs established new 15KV dual primary utility metered campus loops with an automatic throw over switch at the new Central Plant. Additionally, a 15KV site distribution with internal substations were strategically located at the new North Hospital expansion, as well as the interstitial MEP floor of the new Bed Tower for utilization voltages @ 480V, 208V, and 120V.

While the project does not have any set sustainability goals, sustainable design features have been incorporated into the design wherever possible to aid in reducing operating costs.

Challenges: Over the course of project planning and design, the scope gradually expanded as it progressed due to Owner requests and unique requirements. When scope was added, value engineering lists were created for items that could be removed or reduced to help ensure the project remained in budget. During project planning, a third part cost estimator was brought in as part of the design team to conduct high-level pricing. During design development that estimator’s budget was compared and reconciled with the CM’s GMP budget number to ensure no unexpected budget issues.

Another unique challenge overcome by the team came after initial bid documents were released, when the the client added another stand-alone building to the campus while infrastructure was being installed. The design team had to respond quickly to ensure distribution infrastructure revisions were completed to support an additional building.