McCarthy Building Companies, Inc., has completed construction of the new 383,000-square-foot Prebys Cardiovascular Institute and adjacent 26,000-square-foot central energy plant on the Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla campus in La Jolla, California.

As the design-assist general contractor, McCarthy was retained by Scripps Health to perform preconstruction services for the $456 million Prebys Cardiovascular Institute before breaking ground in May 2011.  HOK Architects, based in St. Louis, was the project architect.  Jacobs Engineering Group Inc., headquartered in Indianapolis, served as the construction management firm on behalf of Scripps.  The health system began treating patients at the new facility in March.

 "This is an exciting achievement for us," said Scripps Health Corporate Vice President, Construction and Facilities, Bruce Rainey.  "The new Prebys Cardiovascular Institute reflects the most advanced healthcare design principles together with remarkably high standards of construction.  It stands as a model not only for future Scripps facilities, but also for specialized heart care facilities across the country."

The Next Step in the Master Plan

The Prebys Cardiovascular Institute is the cornerstone of a 25-year master plan unveiled in November 2010 that is transforming the Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla campus.

The new Prebys Cardiovascular Institute will be a destination hospital for cardiac care on the West Coast. The facility will provide cardiovascular patients with the most advanced treatment options available, while also serving as a center for medical research, clinical trials and graduate medical education.

The seven-story, steel-framed tower encompasses 10 levels, including a basement, intermediate mechanical level and rooftop mechanical level.  The exterior of the signature, curved tower utilizes brick, window curtain wall and cream-colored metal panel systems.

The building will accommodate 59 beds on two ICU levels, 108 beds on three medical surgical levels, six state-of-the-art cardiovascular and two hybrid operating rooms, and three cardiac catheterization labs.  A corridor connects the basement and ground levels to the existing hospital.

 The first floor encompasses the lobby and shell space for the future build-out of a new emergency department, which McCarthy is currently performing design-build services on with HOK. The second floor houses operating and pre-op rooms, the third and fourth floors accommodate ICU patient rooms and isolation rooms, and floors five through seven house surgery patient rooms.  The lower floor houses sterilization rooms.

 Located 1,600 feet away, the new central energy plant is a cast-in-place concrete structure encompassing three levels, with two of the levels located below grade.  It will provide air conditioning, heating, medical gas, steam, fuel storage, fresh-water holding, and emergency generators for the new cardiovascular facility and eventually the entire hospital campus.

"The building design incorporates numerous sustainable design principles and was developed with considerable input from physicians, nurses and clinical staff to ensure efficiencies that will foster exceptional care in a safe, comforting environment," said McCarthy Project Director Steve Van Dyke.  "Close, consistent communication between project team members throughout the course of construction was key to the ultimate success of this project, with the architect, project inspector and McCarthy's project team all based onsite the entire construction duration."

To test design ideas, HOK's team implemented a mock-up program by putting a modular building setting on one of the parking areas. The space featured key rooms at full scale, including operating rooms, patient rooms, and nurses' stations. Users tested all aspects of the design including finishes, equipment, clearances, furniture, and furnishings.

Six cardiovascular surgery and hybrid operating rooms with charting areas and intervention labs were built to accommodate the most advanced equipment in the industry, provided by three different manufacturers.  This required varied and exact mechanical and plumbing systems in each surgery room.

Lean Construction is Vital

 Lean construction principles played into the prefabricated head walls and handwashing sinks in the patient rooms, intensive care units and prep/recovery rooms.  The nurse stations were also prefabricated and use modular casework topped with prefabricated Corian countertops.

 Private patient rooms have floor-to-ceiling windows that let in sunlight.  The rooms have comfortable, pullout couches for overnight stays by loved ones, as well as flat-screen televisions and wireless Internet access.  Warm, soothing earth tones that synchronize with the colors of the sand, surf and sun of La Jolla were used throughout the facility.  Large VIP patient suites at the far opposite ends of the fifth, sixth and seventh floors provide ample space for patients' family members to stay overnight, and are isolated for a high degree of quiet and privacy.

 Computerized room-level observation stations, a decentralized medication dispensing process, and decentralized nurse stations will allow caregivers to closely monitor patients and facilitate communication with family members.  A long bank of windows floods the south-facing side of the second floor and affords 180-degree views.  Floor-to-ceiling windows are featured in the teamwork rooms and staff lounges on the fifth, sixth and seventh floors.

KPFF, Inc., based in Los Angeles, was the structural and civil engineer; exp, Ontario, Canada, was the mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineer; and MWPA, Solana Beach, was the landscape architect.  Subcontractors included Tower Glass, Santee, for glass, glazing and sheet metal fabrication and installation; Bergelectric, Los Angeles, for electrical; A.O. Reed & Company, San Diego, mechanical and plumbing; Williams & Sons Masonry, Inc., El Cajon, masonry; Schuff Steel Company, Lafayette, structural steel; Arrowwoods Works, Inc., Cucamonga, finish carpentry and casework; and Howard's Rug Company, San Diego, for floor coverings.  Valley Crest Landscape Development, Inc., San Diego, performed landscape, irrigation, site concrete and outdoor furniture installation. McCarthy self-performed all the structural concrete work.

 The institute's namesake is real estate developer Conrad Prebys, a longtime philanthropist who contributed $45 million to Scripps in 2011 for this project.