H
awaii builders, deemed essential when COVID-19 hit, did more than save the state’s economy. Twelve weeks after breaking ground on The Queen’s Medical Center Advanced Respiratory and Emerging Infectious Disease Unit—a new 24-room section designed for COVID-19 patients—Hawaiian Dredging Construction Co. Inc. wrapped on Oct. 2, 2020.
COVID-19 infection rates are falling, but “the need to upgrade, repair, renovate or expand new mature facilities exists throughout the state,” says Ron Barton, Hawaiian Dredging superintendent. “We have seen a steady demand for hospital renovations and upgrades, including expansions for The Queen’s Medical Center (QMC) and Hawaii Pacific Health, and renovations and expansions of outpatient facilities such as the Castle Professional Building and the Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center.”
Aaron Yamasaki, vice president and division manager at Swinerton Builders, which also has healthcare projects on the Mainland, sees a similar rise. “Many of the health systems we work with have implemented a 10- to 15-year master plan that includes large and complex inpatient acute care,” he says.
Hawaiian Dredging built The Queen’s Medical Center Advanced Respiratory and Emerging Infectious Disease Unit in 12 weeks.
PHOTO COURTESY: HAWAIIAN DREDGING CONSTRUCTION CO. INC.
Currently, says Blair Banker, Rider Levett Bucknall (RLB) associate and healthcare construction consultant, “patient rooms are being designed to handle a broader scope of care by enabling more services that can be administered within a single area.”
Hawaiian Dredging’s QMC project did just that. Patient rooms in the new unit feature ICU-capable headwalls with extra outlets. The unit also has negative pressure technologies and double-filter entrances and exits.
Long-Lead Equipment
The virus may be on the run at QMC, but it’s still wreaking havoc at Hawaii jobsites.
“Some of the major challenges are extended lead times for major equipment, including air-handling units, air-cooled chillers, electrical switchgear and electrical generators.” Yamasaki says.
Barton agrees: “Lead times have increased two- to three-fold on critical equipment such as electrical apparatus and mechanical equipment. Our solutions-driven approach and can-do attitude help our clients and design team solve many logistical and constructability issues, especially those in complex facilities and fully operational environments.”
Swinerton works with clients during preconstruction “to help them understand how critical it is to release long-lead equipment,” Yamasaki says. “Our national relationships with the market and our ability to self-perform help alleviate these challenges.”
COVID-19 infection rates are falling, but “the need to upgrade, repair, renovate or expand new mature facilities exists throughout the state,” says Ron Barton, Hawaiian Dredging superintendent. “We have seen a steady demand for hospital renovations and upgrades, including expansions for The Queen’s Medical Center (QMC) and Hawaii Pacific Health, and renovations and expansions of outpatient facilities such as the Castle Professional Building and the Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center.”
Aaron Yamasaki, vice president and division manager at Swinerton Builders, which also has healthcare projects on the Mainland, sees a similar rise. “Many of the health systems we work with have implemented a 10- to 15-year master plan that includes large and complex inpatient acute care,” he says.
In December, Hawaiian Dredging initiated its $3.4 million renovation of the Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center dental clinic.
PHOTO COURTESY: HAWAIIAN DREDGING CONSTRUCTION CO. INC.
Expertise Needed
“Another challenge will eventually be staffing,” Barton predicts. “As the demand for healthcare-related work increases in Hawaii, so will the need for highly qualified and experienced design and construction personnel.”
If a general contractor lacks experience, says RLB’s Banker, “there is a path when it comes to prequalification and award. A GC may enter the healthcare market initially by providing office space or other support services, then advance to clinics, hospital additions and ultimately to renovating an operating hospital, considered the most technically complex.”
Swinerton’s award-winning University of Hawaii West Oahu Administration and Health Sciences Building
PHOTO COURTESY: SWINERTON BUILDERS
Leading Healthcare Projects
Hawaiian Dredging initiated its $3.4 million renovation of the Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center (WCCHC) dental clinic on Dec. 5 last year. The 4,200-square-foot outpatient clinic is scheduled to wrap in September 2023.
“To date, Hawaiian Dredging has built more than 150 healthcare projects for various types of healthcare organizations,” Barton says. These include The Queen’s Health Systems, Adventist Health Castle, Kaiser Permanente, Hawaii Pacific Healthcare, Kuakini Medical Center, Maui Memorial Hospital, the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine, North Hawaii Community Hospital and WCCHC.” The total value of Hawaiian Dredging’s more than 50 healthcare projects over the past five years is more than $150 million.
Swinerton broke ground on the $6.8 million Straub Rehab Relocations – Phase 1 in July last year, and followed in November with Phase 1 Demolition. Other local healthcare clients include St. Francis, University of Hawaii-West Oahu, Kaiser and Fresenius.
Swinerton has completed more than $5 billion in healthcare projects nationally and locally, and has the “experience building at world-class healthcare institutions and the know-how and respect for what it takes to build in Hawaii,” Yamasaki says. “One of Swinerton’s key differentiators is our ability to install technically demanding medical equipment. We self-perform installation of all owner furnished-contractor installed medical equipment.”
A diagnostic and imaging center built by Swinerton
PHOTO COURTESY: SWINERTON BUILDERS
Treatment Plans
Multi-year, master-planned redevelopment projects at Straub Clinic and QMC are valued at approximately $1 billion apiece. RLB’s Banker also points to the “potential renovation of a confidential facility in West Oahu that would have a significant construction value.” There’s also $50 million in funding for the expansion of Hilo Medical Center, currently under review by the Hawaii State Legislature.
New healthcare projects on the Mainland are already in full swing, he says, “whereas in Hawaii, the pipeline of healthcare construction activity is just ramping up.”
In the short term, he says, Hawaii may see a jump close to the 14% increase expected on the Mainland in 2023. “But Rider Levett Bucknall expects that we will outpace rates of Mainland healthcare construction activity over the next five years.”
