Lahey Clinic - BURLINGTON, MA

Mechanical Construction & HVAC Services

CLIENT OBJECTIVES

To add a 6th and 7th floor of new patient rooms and an associated 8th floor mechanical room above an occupied/operational 5th floor; to build a new three-level expansion with supporting mechanical room to house a surgical intensive care unit, anesthesia area and operating rooms; to provide shell space for future hematology, urology and oncology departments.

VALUE DELIVERED

Ability to serve the healthcare needs of more people, with expanded surgical capabilities and patient recovery; room for future growth.

PROJECT SOLUTIONS

J.C. Higgins enabled Lahey to achieve its varied objectives by successfully integrating extensive mechanical construction project planning and mechanical systems expertise with a consistent client focus and a flexible, cooperative working style. The mechanical HVAC systems construction involved increasing the central chiller plant’s capacity by adding a new 1,000-ton chiller and expanding its heat rejection capabilities with a new four-cell cooling tower and a custom 60,000-pound rooftop condenser water pumphouse. Concurrently, J.C. Higgins routed the new chilled water and steam services from the central plant at the north end of the facility through the hospital to the new expansion at the other end.

All of this presented several major challenges, including those inherent in performing mechanical work in an active hospital environment. For example, J.C. Higgins had to install the rooftop industrial piping and equipment directly above sound-sensitive areas, including sleep labs. It also had to extensively modify the central chilled water plant without any loss of cooling services to critical hospital facilities. Finally, the firm had to confront — and successfully overcome — the constraints and limitations of a phased construction schedule, such as waiting to complete renovation of existing areas until hospital personnel had relocated into newly constructed spaces. And it had to incorporate over $2-million in fit-out work within the base project timeframe.

Thanks to an extensive coordination effort, the company and the other trades had few installation conflicts. These were minor and were resolved with minimal field adjustments.

CLIENT BACKGROUND

From advanced technology to research and medical education, Lahey Clinic combines the renowned specialty resources of its medical centers with top-quality primary care services at community-based practices throughout northeastern Massachusetts. Lahey Clinic Medical Center in Burlington includes an ambulatory care center serving more than 3,000 patients daily, a 293-bed hospital, a 24-hour emergency department and an American College of Surgeons-verified Level II Trauma Center. For the past six years, Lahey Clinic has been cited in U.S. News & World Report’s "America's Best Hospitals" issue for excellence in treating urological diseases.

CLIENT:
Lahey Clinic

GENERAL CONTRACTOR:
Walsh Brothers, Inc.

ARCHITECT:
Shepley Bulfinch Richardson and Abbott

MECHANICAL ENGINEER:
TCI Engineers

SCHEDULE:
2 years, with 90 percent of the work completed in the first 12-16 months.

		New Construction
		Retrofit
		Electrical Construction
		Mechanical Construction
		Facilities Services
		Consulting Services
		HVAC Services
		Energy Services