Driving along El Camino Real across from the Freedom Pointe complex, it is hard to miss the bright blue construction phase at The Villages Regional Hospital.
On May 4, villages-news.com showed photos of steel girders and aluminum framework for the latest addition to TVRH. One short month later, major progress is evident at the site, with multiple construction phases ongoing simultaneously.
To the side of the structure, abutting the Boissoneault Oncology Center and Clemente Court, bright blue insulation is being installed in preparation for the stucco exterior finish. At the front of the new addition, facing the heliport and El Camino Real, a series of large blue tarp curtains have been hung to minimize construction smoke and dust in the surrounding area, as aluminum fretwork is being completed and the complex, ubiquitous interior wiring and tubing, which is found at all hospital sites, is put into place.
Robins & Morton construction workers in their bright yellow shirts and hardhats, can be seen at several levels of scaffolding, which is wrapped around the aluminum framing — measuring, hammering, stapling and welding.
Taking a pro-active stance to keep pace with growing population in The Villages and surrounding communities, The Villages Regional Hospital completed a large expansion project last year, adding a tall North Tower for more patient care capacity.
This latest hospital construction will add five new surgical suites — bringing the total to 11; a new endoscopy area and five additional procedure rooms. There will also be eleven more emergency department beds and an attractive two-story atrium lobby.
Emergency departments all over our country have come under pressure in the past decade to accommodate increasing numbers of patients of all ages with true medical emergencies, as well as those who might better be served in clinics or urgent care walk-in facilities.
“Our Emergency Department has a senior focus, in line with our population demographic,” Don Hahnfeldt, chairman of TVRH’s board of directors, said. “What this means is when patients arrive needing urgent emergency care, they will be viewed in terms of the whole patient — and not just evaluated for their specific injury or immediate problem.”
In older adults, who might have co-morbidities — i.e., several medical conditions at the same time — like diabetes, osteoporosis and cardiovascular insufficiencies as well as their current emergency, this senior focus can result in better overall outcomes and faster recovery.
Founded in 1946, Robins & Morton has a long history of commercial and industrial construction experience throughout the South — including healthcare facilities, government buildings and utility plants. The firm was ranked sixth in a 2015 survey of construction and design companies by Healthcare Magazine in terms of its 2014 revenues. It’s corporate headquarters are in Birmingham, with satellite offices in Charlotte, Dallas, Huntsville, Miami, Nashville, Orlando and Raleigh-Durham.