With Woodruff Construction close to finishing the $5 million expansion and remodel at UnityPoint Trinity Medical Center, both in Fort Dodge, Iowa, the hospital has begun using the new emergency department.

"We are very excited to have completed this phase of the project and to be able to begin providing care in a brand new area," said Mike Dewerff, President and CEO of UnityPoint Health - Fort Dodge, at the ribbon cutting. "Our overall goal with the project is to be able to provide the best care and patient experience."

The scope of work included demolition of the former ambulance garage to make space for a 9,500-square-foot, structural-steel frame addition to the medical center, with three ambulance bays, two large trauma rooms, a climate controlled hazmat/decontamination shower room, two triage rooms, a large nurse and doctor station, a consult room, security office, family room and seven private patient rooms, bringing the total to 15 emergency department rooms. The project also includes remodeling of the radiology department and repaving the entrance and parking area. 

The original emergency department was designed and built in the 1970s, when the hospital staff cared for about 12,000 emergency department patients annually, nearly half of the 23,000 patients that it now treats each year. Hospital officials toured several other emergency facilities to learn about best practices in patient flow and satisfaction before embarking on its own plans. Leo A. Daly in Omaha, Nebraska, designed the new facility. 

Woodruff Construction began work on the project in 2014 and expects it to be complete by the end of 2016.  

"The hospital has been really cooperative and things just flowed," says Jeff Daleske, Project Superintendent with Woodruff Construction. "They are real good to work with."

Chad Lennon, Project Manager and Estimator with Woodruff Construction, the construction manager at risk for the project, added that the hospital has been a valuable member of the construction team, working collaboratively with Woodruff staff to solve any issues that come up.

Working Around Ambulances

Woodruff Construction subcontracted the heavy demolition and earthwork to Rasch Construction in Fort Dodge. The project required tearing down the former ambulance garage, with its cast-in-place concrete walls and roof deck. 

Crews then built a temporary ambulance structure while construction of the new garage and emergency department progressed. To keep the facility operational, Woodruff has phased the project. 

On the entrance road, crews placed concrete barriers and built temporary access driveways. The company also used different types of concrete, including N4, so people could start driving on it sooner.

"They constantly have patients coming in and out, and there's only one entrance," Lennon says. "We're leapfrogging around doing different sections of paving as we can." 

Delivery and construction vehicles often had to exit the roads to make way for ambulances, says Jason Burgin, a Sales Representative with Logan Contractors Supply in Des Moines, Iowa.

Quality Supply Company

Logan Contractors supplied expansion joints, dowel bars, sealers, cures and keyways for the concrete work. The company also provided insulation, rebar for concrete and control joints.  

"It's good working with Logan," Lennon says. "We call Jason all of the time. He is very responsive and will get us the materials quickly. Jason will even bring it up himself, if he has to." 

Woodruff also secured equipment, including a screed, an early saw and hand tools, from Logan Contractors, a family-owned business, which also services the equipment. The company has four offices in Bettendorf and Des Moines, Iowa; Olathe, Kansas; and Omaha, Nebraska. 

Crews replaced asphalt roadways with concrete paving. Although the job originally called for asphalt, the cost comparison was close. The hospital agreed to the change, since the concrete will last longer. Caruth Concrete Pumping of Ames provided the pumping equipment and Woodruff's crew the concrete work. 

"The interior concrete work was challenging," Lennon says. "We used a Concure product as an additive, so they could put the floor coverings on early. It worked really well." 

Concure Systems of Kansas City, Missouri, manufactures topical vapor barriers and concrete admixures. Concure keeps moisture from traveling through the concrete, which can result in bubbles developing in the flooring placed atop of it. Lennon says using Concure required more people and equipment. 

"It doesn't look like it is setting up, but it is," he explains. 

Six Decades of Success

Woodruff Construction, founded in 1956, frequently performs hospital work all over Iowa. The company has four offices in the state: Fort Dodge, Ames, Des Moines and Waterloo. Woodruff Construction employs 160 employees and brings in about $80 million annually.

"Business is going excellent," Lennon says. "We're a big company, but we are still family oriented. We work closely with each other in the office and have great communication. We have good procedures in place and our safety record is impeccable." 

Woodruff Construction recently started construction on a school in Fort Dodge and a new nursing home in Storm Lake. It's a multistory concrete and structural steel building, with poured concrete decks. The company is finishing up a large project for Nestle Purina.

While many things have changed since Woodruff Construction began 60 years ago, two generations of the Woodruff family have maintained the same core principles of exceeding client expectations, valuing employees and encouraging them to do their best, striving for excellence, investing back into the community, finding creative solutions, and being socially responsible.  

"Woodruff has a good reputation and has good relationships with people in the industry," Burgin adds. 

 Lennon reports Woodruff frequently gives back to the communities it works in, financially and with in-kind contributions. "Serving others, that's our motto," Lennon says.