Modular Medical Solutions

An Increasingly Popular Space Solution

By Duane Harris, Pacific Mobile Structures

"We've had several other hospitals tour our building and all were very complimentary and surprised it was modular, not site-built."

Providence Centralia Hospital, like most hospitals, has seen tremendous growth during their existence and has expanded whenever and wherever possible. For some time, they had been seeking to consolidate all of their OBGYN doctors into one facility, instead of having them practice at different locations throughout the city. They also had been tasked with recruiting additional doctors and having room for them as well.

"Finding a place for additional staff and doctors has really been a struggle during my time here", John Smotryski, Special Projects Manager, said. "There is only so much room available on the campus, and services keep expanding to meet the needs of our patients". Rising costs played a part in limiting new construction at the hospital and they were seeking solutions to their space problems.

Walla Walla Clinic had been in the exact situation as Providence Hospital. They had been through a number of remodeling projects, including a major hospital expansion about three years ago. "The site-built expansion was successful", said Matt Triebwasser, Facilities Manager, "but the project involved a lot more change orders than we expected and it was considerably more expensive than budgeted". Due to increasingly limited construction funds and significant changes in the medical field, they too were looking for more cost-effective ways to expand their clinic.

Providence Hospital and Walla Walla Clinic had heard of modular construction and were interested in finding out about the pricing advantages, cost controls and faster project completion times that this type of construction might offer. Providence had been previously associated with a nearby modular clinic that had been quite successful, but Walla Walla had no direct experience with modulars. In both cases, Pacific Mobile Structures, a mobile modular dealer covering the west coast, was contacted. After a series of meeting to discuss their capabilities, they were asked to prepare preliminary floorplans for each client.

Blazer Industries, a modular factory in Oregon, was the builder for both projects and was actively involved from the very beginning. Initial building designs were prepared to meet the specific requirements of Walla Walla Clinic and Providence Hospital. Those plans were submitted to the client and reviewed by the various departments and staff that would use the building. Changes were made, updated blueprints were drawn and the final plans were completed and approved. Sketches were then prepared on possible exterior options, and the final "look" of each building was determined. Throughout the entire design process, value-engineering suggestions were made to the client to help meet the overall project cost goals while meeting their architectural needs.

Providence Centralia Hospital selected a 5,824 sf single story building for their new OBGYN clinic. This structure was designed with one 14'x56' module that formed the lobby and six 14'x60' modules that served as the exam rooms and offices. The building was completed approximately 75% in-plant, with all interior walls painted, t-grid ceilings, cabinetry and plumbing installed, and finished with a shipping-roof only. The building was installed using a 160 ton crane and was set on a concrete stem-wall foundation.

Because this new facility was sited on land slightly apart from the hospital, they wanted the building to have its' own identity, while still blending into the existing campus. Thus, the roof was built on-site, and a colored standing-seam metal roof was installed, giving the building a contemporary appearance. The structure featured a painted stucco concrete siding above the windows that "mirrored" a theme seen on other campus buildings. Concrete lap-siding was used for the majority of the exterior siding, and a large entry porch was designed as the focal point of the building.

One of the central features of the interior was the raised coffered ceiling in the lobby. It was designed using exposed glu-laminated beams that were wrapped and painted and spanned the entire lobby without requiring support posts. The ceiling was completed using large crown molding around the perimeter with parabolic light fixtures supplying the lighting in the lobby.

Walla Walla Clinic decided on a 5,796 sf general practice clinic over a full basement as their first effort at using modulars to fulfill their new expansion project. Their structure was designed with six 14'x69' modules forming a rectangle-shaped building. This structure, like Providence, was about 75% completed in-plant, had a shipping-roof only and was installed with a 120 ton crane on top of a 9' basement. The floorjoists of this building featured steel I-beams, sandwiched between 2"x10" wood joists, allowing a minimum number of steel support beams in the basement. The roof was built on-site and composition shingles were installed to match the existing buildings.

The new building was to be sited on campus but all existing buildings had brick exteriors. A compromise was suggested and accepted to use painted wood exterior siding with brick façades added to the corners and porch columns, to help hold costs down while helping blend the building into the campus. The marriage line seams also featured "easy-install" painted wood feature strips which were designed to add character to the building, while again limiting install costs. This structure, like the building for Providence, was also installed ground-level to permit the use of concrete sidewalks for handicapped accessibility and to make the building blend in better with the surrounding buildings.

The interior of this clinic featured 9' tegular t-grid ceilings with suspended lights, painted sheetrock interior walls and painted wood interior doors and trims. All cabinetry was hi-pressure medical-grade laminate installed in-plant, along with all required plumbing, sinks and fixtures. Flooring featured block tile flooring arranged in patterns in all exam rooms, along with nylon carpeting in the balance of the building.

When asked for their responses to their projects, both clients were very positive about the success of their projects and the advantages that modular construction offered. "I'd say we saved at least four to five months on the construction time", Matt Triebwasser stated, "and we saved approximately 10% over our site-built estimates". He further stated that "it was certainly an easier buying process because modular construction eliminated almost all of the typical changes that occur on-site, due to needing approved building plans before the structure is built".

This sentiment was echoed by John Smotryski, adding "we saved some money and time, but primarily we liked the efficiency of the ordering process and knew what we were getting". He further added that "we've had several other hospitals tour our building and all were very complimentary and surprised it was modular, not site-built". John summed up his feelings with the statement, "we have been very pleased with the building, the service we've received, and will definitely look at modular for future expansion projects.

Walla Walla Clinic recently showed they were serious about their confidence with modular construction, when they placed an order for their second modular clinic, a 6,820 sf Pediatric Clinic, with a full basement and elevator. This facility will sit directly adjacent to the first building, and have a completely different roof line, to compliment the first structure. Additionally, they have decided to not only install a brick façade over the entire exterior of the new building, but remodel the exterior of the first building and install brick on it as well.

Matt summarized his feelings on both projects when he stated "we could have easily built the new facility on-site, but we trust the quality of Blazer Industries and the professionalism of Pacific Mobile Structures". "In the end, he said, the cost savings, time savings, quality and knowing we would not have any change orders, made the decision in favor of modular . . . we look forward to the completion of this new project."

Duane Harris is national sales manager at Pacific Mobile Structures in Chehalis, WA.

Copyright © Modular Building Institute, October 2003.