2025 Southwest Best Projects
Best Small Project: HonorHealth Scottsdale Shea Medical Center ICU Renovation
HonorHealth Scottsdale Shea Medical Center ICU Renovation
Scottsdale, Ariz.
BEST PROJECT
Submitted by Jacobsen Construction
Owner Honor Health
Lead Design Firm Cunningham Group Architecture
General Contractor Jacobsen Construction
Structural Engineer Caruso Turley Scott
MEP Engineer LSW Engineers
Having undergone few improvements since it was built nearly 50 years ago, the intensive care unit badly needed modernized systems, better lighting and other upgrades to continue providing efficient, quality care. In addition, the owner wanted to create a more comfortable and more visually encouraging atmosphere for patients and their families in order to better support them in the most difficult moments of their lives.
Because the ICU’s main corridors were reserved for patient and provider needs, only a limited number of back-of-house routes were available to deliver materials and equipment for the five-phase, $6.5-million overhaul. The project team overcame this challenge by using compact, narrow delivery carts to perform smaller, more frequent deliveries and for removing demolished material, choosing times that generally saw less foot traffic from visitors and medical providers.
All material staging was also required to be done within the area of the ICU currently being renovated, with zero tolerance for debris tracking or unattended construction clutter anywhere else in the department. Whenever possible, quieter tools and methods were preferred over speed on any given task, particularly depending on proximity to the nearest occupied patient suite.
Photo courtesy Jacobsen Construction
Now brighter, cleaner and better-equipped, the renovated ICU offers a more efficient physical environment for patients, visitors and medical providers. The addition of an adaptable overhead boom enhances each suite’s flexibility, functioning as the nerve center for the connections and controls of medical gases, monitoring devices, intravenous fluids and other treatment systems. The boom’s articulating arms allow repositioning above any part of the room, giving physicians flexibility on where to situate the patient depending on current needs or whether to accommodate more visitors, a larger provider team or additional medical equipment.
To support the weight of these overhead booms, structural steel was added above the ceiling while working around existing ductwork and piping. A robotic model used to map existing conditions helped the team efficiently strategize how to add steel without dismantling existing ceiling installations.
To protect active ICU areas against dust-borne infections, STARC prefabricated wall panels were used as temporary barriers to fully enclose each workspace. Whenever crews needed to move or adjust these barriers, the hospital’s infection prevention specialists were brought on site to confirm they were positioned correctly.
Photo courtesy Jacobsen Construction
Jacobsen also worked with HonorHealth’s infection prevention team to create negative air flow within workspaces, ensuring air continuously flowed into the area rather than out of it. Digital air flow monitoring systems immediately alerted crews to any changes to these conditions.
Top-grade HEPA air filters were regularly monitored, cleaned and replaced, further reducing the risk posed by airborne health hazards.
Several layers of personnel and operational redundancy were incorporated while updating ICU electrical and life-safety systems to ensure that power or service to occupied patient suites or other essential areas would not be interrupted inadvertently.
