ST. LOUIS, MO St. Louis, Missouri, -based KAI Design & Build has recently been awarded a pair of clinic modernization projects at U.S. Air Force bases in North Dakota and Oklahoma estimated at $53 million.

KAI Design & Build, partnered with Kansas City, Missouri, -based United Excel Construction (UEC), has been contracted to renovate outdated medical facilities at the two bases to increase staff efficiency and enhance patient care. Both projects are part of United Excel's government Multiple Award Task Order Contracts (MATOC) with the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers (USACE), Little Rock District.

The contracts are for design-build construction and initial outfitting. UEC holds the contract to design, build and equip the clinics, while KAI will provide the Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing (MEP) engineering design work.

"The Federal Government will benefit from the UEC/KAI integrated design, construction and outfitting team in terms of boosting efficiency and quality on both projects," said KAI President Michael B. Kennedy.

At U.S. Air Force 5th Medical Group at Minot, AFB, North Dakota, the base's three-story, 178,000-square-foot facility was originally designed as a hospital, but currently functions as an outpatient medical clinic. As such, many departments contain inefficient layouts and deficient infrastructure, plus many of the mechanical, communications and electrical systems are outdated and need to be repaired or replaced to extend the useful life of the building and meet current criteria and codes. All renovation work will meet LEED Silver sustainability guidelines.

The facility's new design will make use of available space to maximize areas for patient treatment and clinical support and administration including: primary care, laboratory, optometry, radiology, ambulance services, flight medicine, pharmacy, pediatrics/immunizations, RMC, systems, mental health, VA clinic, logistics, bioenvironmental engineering, dental, physical therapy, quality services, drug reduction, readiness, acupuncture, public health, education/training, AHWC, aerospace physiology, resource management, TOPA and command. The total cost of the project is estimated at $37 million, with construction expected to begin in October, 2017.

At Vance Air Force Base, located 65 miles northwest of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, KAI/UEC will improve functionality and make infrastructure upgrades to the base's 71st Medical Group Clinic.

The 36,000-square-foot renovation focuses on two major areas -- providing process improvements through the right-sizing and consolidation of departments, and upgrading the infrastructure to the building's mechanical and electrical systems, fire suppression and fire alarm/mass notification.

The renovated facility will house the following departments: dental clinic, preventative medicine, radiology, isolation/procedure room, simulation lab, pathology and clinical laboratory. The total cost of the renovations is estimated at $16 million, with construction scheduled to begin in September, 2017.