NFRMC Announces Progress of Multi-Year Expansion
August 10, 2011
Gainesville, FL – North Florida Regional Medical Center (NFRMC), Gainesville’s community hospital, announced its new 568-space parking garage opened on Monday August 1, 2011. The garage is part of a multi-phase campus expansion plan, coinciding with increased volume at the hospital and will meet significant increased demand for parking at the hospital following periods of double-digit growth.
“The opening of our new garage will relieve much of the parking pressure we face on our campus,” said Matt Davis, NFRMC Chief Operating Officer. “It is very satisfying to know that, at a time when many industries are struggling, we continue to grow and expand. The need for this garage and our ability to build it during these times is testimony to our commitment to this community.”
In addition to parking, the current stage of the multi-phase campus plan addresses the community need for more ICU acuity beds, as well as the renovation of an 8-bed unit into a state-of-the-art 12-bed telemetry unit. Total incremental beds associated with this project are 28. Completion will increase NFRMC’s licensed bed capacity to 353. The total investment for this phase is $35 million.
“Expansion projects on a busy hospital campus are always filled with challenges, and our new parking garage was no exception,” said Robert Harmon, NFRMC Director of Plant Operations. “It’s exciting to see the garage finished because it will benefit our patients, visitors and employees.”
As with all garage construction projects, a large portion of the work happens underground with the installation of auger cast piles and foundations. Because of the weight of the precast concrete structural members, the garage is supported by bedrock below the surface. Over 350 auger cast piles installed around the perimeter support this weight. Sixteen-inch holes drilled approximately 45 feet down are filled with concrete and reinforcing steel. This process took much of the time allotted for construction.
Once the foundation work was completed, the most visible part of construction began and included the carefully organized delivery of large, precast concrete structural members that were pre-engineered to fit together. This meant they had to be delivered to the site in the correct order and placed as they arrived. Delivery trucks were staged each day at a stop on Interstate-75 and notified when each truck could begin the journey to the job site.
Following the completion of the parking garage and the surgical tower expansion in September, work will begin immediately on the Phase IV addition of approximately 100,000 square feet of new construction and 20,000 square feet of renovations to the existing hospital. At the conclusion of the current expansion in September 2011 and the Phase IV expansion in 2013, North Florida Regional Medical Center will have grown from a 325-bed facility to a 445-bed full-service medical and surgical acute care referral center.
“When we are finished with these substantial projects, North Florida Regional Medical Center will be better equipped to treat our steady increase of patients,” Matt Davis said. “Investments in the latest medical technology, coupled with our focus on quality and safety, translate into the best possible patient care at Gainesville’s community hospital.”