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By Allan Dedman and Stan Shelton | Photos Blake Marvin Team approach breathes life into project Once-stalled Woman's Hospital project resurrected through collaboration, budget management A fter Hurricane Katrina in 2005, cities and towns surrounding New Orleans, La. witnessed significant surges in populations. In Baton Rouge, La., Woman's Hospital found itself in need of more space and a more robust facility to accommodate the influx of new residents to the region. "The lack of space to accommodate service changes or current technology, coupled with an outdated facility was proving to be a challenge to us. We strive to make our patient experience as personal and as individual as we can," said Stan Shelton, senior vice president of new campus development for Woman's Hospital. "We wanted a state-of-the-art facility that would support and reflect that commitment to our patients." The hospital set out to build a facility to support the growing community nearby. Total budget was approximately $299 million. JE Dunn, in association with Milton Womack and Arkel, was selected as the general contractor while HKS, Inc. and Ford Dickinson were chosen as the architectural firms. Bidding for success Because many companies in the region wanted this hospital to succeed, JE Dunn implemented a unique bidding process that allowed as many local community subcontractors as possible to work together — rather than compete — to get the work done. During the preconstruction phase, JE Dunn organized and held project open houses where local subcontractors and vendors could learn about the project and 30 Medical Construction & Design | January/February 2013 how to bid. JE Dunn presented information on how businesses could participate, and Woman's Hospital staff members offered an overview and history of the project, as well as a commitment by the hospital supporting local business participation. During the subcontractor selection process, large scopes of work were broken down into smaller pieces, so as many local businesses as possible could get involved. Initial construction began in June 2008. Using in-house capital to start with, the intention was to finance the rest of the project through the sale of bonds. www.mcdmag.com