The existing Jackson County Regional Medical Center campus had been a centerpiece in the community for as long as the community could remember. Facing the reality of a deteriorating and outdated facility in need of replacement was a difficult reality to accept. As a longstanding client of IMEG’s, we were (in conjunction with an architectural partner) asked to complete a facility assessment and master planning services to provide a roadmap for renovate-in-place versus greenfield replacement facility. Given the aging facility, failing infrastructure, and IMEG’s interaction with the community, the hospital decided a greenfield replacement facility was in their best interest.

IMEG provided structural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing,, medical gas, fire protection, and technology engineering design and services, along with medical equipment planning, for the new Jackson County Regional Health Center replacement facility. The facility began design in 2017. The new medical campus serves as the prominent healthcare facility for the growing community and aging population.

The new facility features 13 inpatient rooms, two operating rooms, emergency department, imaging department, central sterile, lab, pharmacy, kitchen/cafeteria, rehab center, and clinical exam space.

Understanding remote locations of critical access facilities and staffing challenges they can present, simple, yet efficient approaches were taken when designing central plants and MEPT infrastructure. The heating plant is designed as a variable primary hot water system incorporating three high-efficiency condensing boilers. The chilled water plant is designed as a primary / secondary system incorporating two air-cooled chillers located on grade. Each chiller is sized for 75% of the load for redundancy and operates based on a glycol solution to simplify system shutdown procedures. The facility is served by four strategically located air handling units (AHU’s) and one make-up air handling unit (MAU) dedicated to the kitchen. Emergency power is provided to the facility through a 1,000 kW generator located on grade, adjacent to the facility.