Public Involvement: Funded through a tax initiative approved by tax payers, this project was an extremely public and was closely watched. Residents would literally sit and watch the construction progress from outside the active site – eager to see how the community’s biggest project since the early 1980s progressed. A&P attended board meetings, design meetings and community meetings, ready to answer questions. Project milestones were community events, and the town, staff, media and construction team were invited to attend and were treated to a barbeque lunch. During the topping out party, community members were asked to sign the steel beam that was placed at the front entry, forever acknowledging their contribution and involvement in a project that held so much meaning for its town. Environmental Constraints: Our team understood the challenges that must be considered when building in rural, mountain towns, including delayed overnight deliveries, which actually took two days instead of one; limited inspection availability, which required extensive preplanning and coordination; and access and manpower challenges. Careful coordination, trust and teamwork among all stakeholders resulted in residents being able to access their new hospital three months early. The final project was completed on budget and with no contractor-initiated change orders.
The owner wanted to ensure those who would be using the facility had some input into its design. A&P built mockups for patient rooms, exam rooms, minor procedure rooms and imaging spacing in the local high school gymnasium four months prior to the finalization of design, and invited end users to test the spaces. Each end user was allowed input into how rooms would be best designed. Everything from where outlets were located for equipment to countertop height was discussed. The design team took this feedback and incorporated it into the final documents. Once construction began, A&P completed one of each of the room types and allowed the same end users a chance to return to make any adjustments. Involving end users on the front end of design ensured this hospital was truly built for its occupants and ensured quality the first time. If there was a problem with the final design, the final end-user check allowed A&P to fix it once, rather than going back and fixing it in multiple rooms. This process was a big contributor to A&P being able to deliver the project early and the hospital being able to begin seeing patients three months ahead of schedule.
A&P's involvement upfront set the project up for success. Their team helped educate our community about the project benefits and helped gain their support, which led to the mill levy being strongly supported and approved. Once design began, A&P attended town hall meetings and design charrettes and was truly integrated in the process from start to finish.
Their commitment to the hospital’s success continued throughout the project and at the end, we were moving in three months earlier than planned and had zero contractor-initiated change orders. A&P held each subcontractor to a high level of quality and accountability and ensured that our residents received the first-class facility they were promised. By aggressively driving the schedule, we essentially started treating local patients early in the hospital they agreed to fund.
Before we opened our doors, A&P coordinated facility-wide training for all staff on all the new systems and invited the staff to familiarize themselves with their new surroundings prior to the move in date so everyone was ready to hit the ground running. This hospital is a huge success and that is largely due to the commitments to the Rangely community this A&P team demonstrated from start to finish. I highly recommend Steve Olien and all of the AP Healthcare organization to any hospital seeking a construction manager. They will get your project right the first time.
Nick Goshe
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Rangely District Hospital