Faith Community Hospital sets the standard for rural healthcare facilities. The previous hospital was nearing 60-years old and quickly becoming obsolete. Meanwhile, the population in Jack County had grown significantly over the last decade, furthering the need for expanded healthcare services and a new hospital. As the leadership of Faith Community Hospital embarked on the journey to deliver a much-needed replacement facility, they selected us as their construction partner. Hoar Construction assembled a project team of veteran healthcare builders, skilled in navigating the challenges of successfully delivering a new hospital in a rural community. Over the course of 17 months, we worked with Faith Community Hospital to deliver a new replacement hospital that tripled their patient capacity and brought much-needed medical services to the community.
Dirt Cheap
Grading plans on the new site called for extensive cut and fill. Even after adjusting the finish floor elevations of each building, the grading still needed over 70,000 cubic yards of fill. Based on the nearest borrow pit, the cost was going to be approximately $400,000 —money that was not in the budget. Our team engaged the local community through Faith Community Hospital to seek better sources of fill material. Through a conversation, we discovered that the adjoining property owner was in the initial planning stages of a single-family housing development. We approached the landowner and brokered a deal to remove the 70,000 CY of fill from his property in exchange for sculpting a small lake. Our creative solution eliminated the need for expensive dirt removal and resulted in a $360,000 savings for Faith Community Hospital.
Detailed Planning and Seamless Execution
Large hospital systems often have an in-house team dedicated to facilities management and construction projects, whereas critical access hospitals lack the capacity to manage projects of this magnitude on their own. Based on our experience delivering healthcare facilities, our team knew the process of relocating the contents from the old hospital to the new hospital would be a daunting task. Several months before move-in day, our team began to coordinate with the hospital staff and provide a clearly defined, phased plan for moving the medical equipment, furniture, and all other necessary items. As a result of our diligent planning, we moved each phase of the hospital with limited or no interruption to patient services. As an additional support measure, we had a designated Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing (MEP) foreman on-site for 24 hours during the equipment move. During the move, an issue arose with the CT scanner, but our designated foreman was on-site and able to solve the problem quickly.
Living our Partnering Spirit
Our project approach is rooted in creating exceptional value for our clients, and we understand that every client defines value differently. The hospital administrators at Faith Community Hospital, defined value as expanding their healthcare services to best serve the current and future residents of Jack County. The original project scope called for a new hospital, EMS, and wellness center. However, the budget did not allow for our team to manage the construction of the wellness center. Knowing the importance of the wellness center to the residents and the promise the hospital made to the community, we provided cost alternatives to align the wellness center design with the allocated budget, and also interview and select local trade partners to build it. Ultimately, hospital administrators were able to deliver all programs as promised.
From the beginning, it was clear the new facility would have a major impact on the 4,500 residents of Jack County, Texas. Our project team wasted no time developing connections and immersing ourselves deeply in the community. Partnering with the design team and hospital administrators, we held community meetings, focus groups and participated in local charity efforts. We hosted school supply drives, a BBQ for local firefighters, volunteered with Big Brothers, Big Sisters, and invited the community of Jacksboro to the groundbreaking and the topping-out ceremony of the hospital.
Faith Community Hospital CEO, Frank Beaman commented, “Hoar Construction always represented Faith with our best interests in mind and candidly, made us look good in the community.”
Investing in the Future
The leadership at Faith Community Hospital felt passionate about investing in the implementation of a geothermal energy system despite the additional upfront costs. Relying on the Earth’s heat, the geothermal energy system would reduce operating costs for the life of the new hospital and provide a more sustainable option than traditional energy sources. Faith’s geothermal system uses over 150 small wells below the slab, each over 250 feet deep to utilize the earth’s natural heating and cooling. Because this was our team’s first installation, we used Building Information Modeling (“BIM”) to minimize clashes, coordinate underground utilities, and create a path for the well fields. By using BIM, we were able to build the project virtually, identify the challenges, and eliminate them before we began construction. Faith Community Hospital can now boast that they are the first rural/sole-provider hospital in Texas to utilize geothermal energy.
“Jack County is a shining example of what a rural community can accomplish,” said Frank Beaman, Faith Community Hospital CEO, “and Hoar Construction has been a tremendous partner in helping us achieve our goals with this hospital. From their project leadership to community involvement, Hoar has been equally as committed to the success of the hospital as we are.”
