The 160,000-sf, three-story VA Ambulatory Care Center opened in Omaha, Neb., on August 3. This is the first of five pilot projects authorized to be built under the Communities Helping Invest through Property and Improvements Needed for Veterans Act, otherwise known as CHIP IN, which became law in 2016 and allows the cash-strapped U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to use private investments to fund construction and real estate purchases.
The Omaha facility’s $86 million price tag was defrayed by $30 million in private contributions funneled through the nonprofit Heritage Services, the project’s construction manager, which donated its services and the building to the VA. This funding mechanism created efficiencies that shortened construction time and aligned design specifications with those used in private healthcare projects.
Also see: Outpatient clinics bring the VA closer to injured veterans
The new center has the capacity to provide healthcare services to about 400 patients per day.
LEO A DALY provided the architectural, engineering, and interior design services on this project, for which McCarthy Building Companies was the GC. The Ambulatory Care Center has eight primary care clinics, including one for women vets (a first in VA’s healthcare network), and a care clinic that’s shared by orthopedics, cardiology, and other specialty medical practices.
A WALL DESIGNED TO RESEMBLE A WAVING FLAG
Alternating colors along the building's western facade symbolize the colored bars earned by miltary servicemen and women.
All clinics employ Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) programming to enhance patient privacy and navigation. By centralizing clinical staff and resources, the PACT model also promotes collaboration. A new outpatient surgery center occupies the third floor, along with radiology. On the first level, a new connector building provides direct indoor access to the existing hospital and its services.
Sophisticated structural and architectural coordination created the folded glass form of the building’s “flag wall.” Against the western façade, alternating colors symbolize the “colored bars” earned by military servicemen and women for acts of gallantry and heroism. Both walls use transparent glazing to stream abundant daylighting into the interior spaces.
Also see: Veterans’ mental health needs are central to Seattle’s VA design
A sense of refuge, comfort, and reflection are reinforced by amenities that include an outdoor healing garden and commissioned artwork (some of it created by veteran-artists) installed in the facility’s public spaces.
The new Ambulatory Care Center replaces a crumbling hospital built in the 1940s and had long been on the VA’s list of replacement priorities.
Related Stories
| Feb 28, 2012
Griffin Electric completes Medical University of South Carolina project
The 210,000-sf complex is comprised of two buildings, and houses research, teaching and office areas, plus conference spaces for the University.
| Feb 22, 2012
CISCO recognizes Gilbane for quality construction, design, and safety
The project employed more than 2,000 tradespeople for a total of 2.1 million hours worked – all without a single lost-time accident.
| Feb 14, 2012
The Jackson Laboratory announces Gilbane Building Co. as program manager for Connecticut facility
Gilbane to manage program for new genomic medicine facility that will create 300 jobs in Connecticut.
| Feb 13, 2012
WHR Architects renovation of Morristown Memorial Hospital Simon Level 5 awarded LEED Gold
Located in the Simon Building, which serves as the main entrance leading into the Morristown Memorial Hospital campus, the project comprises three patient room wings connected by a centralized nursing station and elevator lobby.
| Feb 13, 2012
New medical city unveiled in Abu Dhabi
SOM’s design for the 838-bed, three-million-square foot complex creates a new standard for medical care in the region.
| Feb 10, 2012
Mortenson Construction research identifies healthcare industry and facility design trends
The 2012 Mortenson Construction Healthcare Industry Study includes insights and perspectives regarding government program concerns, the importance of lean operations, flexible facility design, project delivery trends, improving patient experience, and evidence-based design.
| Jan 31, 2012
Fusion Facilities: 8 reasons to consolidate multiple functions under one roof
‘Fusing’ multiple functions into a single building can make it greater than the sum of its parts. The first in a series on the design and construction of university facilities.
| Jan 31, 2012
Suffolk Construction to manage Lawrence & Memorial Hospital Cancer Center project in Waterford, Conn.
Leading construction management firm overseeing one of first healthcare projects in the country to utilize innovative IPD process.
| Jan 16, 2012
Suffolk completes construction on progressive operating suite
5,700 square-foot operating suite to be test bed for next generation of imaged-guided operating techniques.
| Jan 4, 2012
HDR to design North America’s first fully digital hospital
Humber River is the first hospital in North America to fully integrate and automate all of its processes; everything is done digitally.
