After years of delay, LifePoint Health was eager to start construction of the North Alabama Medical Center—and it gave the team 23 months to complete the five-story, 485,000-sq-ft hospital. The design and construction team utilized design-assist subcontractors to lead and drive innovation with budget and constructibility in mind. 3D virtual mock-up rooms were built, allowing user groups to “walk through” the design as the team completed final documents. The 3D mock-ups took a process that traditionally spans months and was shortened to only days.

Headwalls, lavatories, patient shower mixing valves, medical gas zone valve boxes, clinical utility sink wet walls and thousands of overhead piping racks were assembled months ahead of schedule, using a small pool of local skilled electricians, plumbers, medical gas certified mechanics and pipe fitters.

The site is located in a remote area of northwest Alabama, more than 200 miles from Memphis, so bringing in out-of-town hires would have posed a significant challenge. Extensive use of prefabrication kept manpower fluctuations to a minimum, allowing a more consistent workforce to execute the work, which resulted in improved quality.

The project was completed in October 2018, on budget and nearly two months ahead of schedule. The project includes 30 exam rooms, an emergency room, 14 operating suites and 263 licensed beds.

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