McCarthy Building Cos. constructed Banner Estrella Hospital's 279,000-sq-ft medical tower addition on a fast-track schedule lasting just 19 months, the quickest turnaround for a health care facility to date by the contractor's Southwest division. The project team met the tight time line in part by using concrete structural framing, the first hospital tower to incorporate this method in the Southwest in the last 20 years, according to McCarthy.
Factored together with a safety record that resulted in zero lost-time injuries and a recordable incident rate of 0.47 during more than 850,000 worker hours, the six-story hospital earned ENR Southwest's top award in health care as well as its Excellence in Safety Award. In October 2013, the project was designated a Star Site by the Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health.