An extensive multiphase $33.7-million renovation spanned a total of 23 departments and expanded support services throughout Memorial Hermann’s existing campus, requiring extensive infection control planning and logistical coordination for corridor impacts and MEP shutdowns.

Renovated departments included pharmacy, central sterile processing, kitchen servery, dining, radiology, material management, operating rooms and post anesthesia care. Since the jobsite spanned the entire campus, crews worked unconventional hours, including overtime and weekends, especially during corridor work or shutdowns to limit impacts on active health care operations. A total of 215 shutdowns occurred, primarily after regular hours, accounting for a substantial portion of the project’s timeline.

At its peak, the project team simultaneously engaged 14 jobsites, compared with just four within the first three weeks. A helicopter lift was necessary to position a chiller between buildings, then set it on a rooftop. The helicopter maneuvered under the roofline of adjacent bed towers, so the team evacuated all people from the top two floors along the flight path for the duration of the pick.

A 16-week process was necessary to swap air handling units while operating rooms were active. By using time-saving strategies that worked in tandem with the hospital’s normal operation, the team delivered the project under budget and ahead of schedule in October 2023.