Austin Commercial Receives ABC Eagle Award
Austin Commercial was awarded the Associated Builders and Contractor’s (ABC) Eagle award during its annual convention on June 18, 2008 in Washington D.C. for the construction of the Special Care Nursery at Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas. ABC’s Awards of Excellence Program has become the premier competition within the construction industry. These awards recognize outstanding construction projects from across the nation.
With the need for specialized medical facilities for infants on the rise, Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas wanted to excel in the healing of infants and and their families. To accomplish this goal, the hospital relocated the nursery from the Margot Perot building to the Jackson building’s sixth floor. The project originally included only the sixth floor demolition and renovation for the new special care nursery, but due to safety issues the scope was expanded to include space on the fifth floor.
Construction is always a challenge in an operational hospital. Austin’s expertise in mitigating the impacts of construction on this environment relies on our ability to coordinate, plan and phase building activities. Austin overcame many challenges to successfully construct the Special Care Nursery within a fully operational hospital and is deserving of ABC’s first place Eagle Award for Excellence in Construction.
The 44-bed Special Care Nursery is the only unit in the region featuring all private rooms. It serves as a transition area for infants dismissed from intensive care but still requiring extra care. This nursery allows families to share a room with their newborn. A wireless tracking system that locates nurses in real-time eliminates the need for overhead paging has greatly reduced noise and foot traffic in the unit. The design is a break from the traditional "open" bassinet layout of many special care nurseries that are noisy and not very conducive for families to bond with their infants. These rooms are spacious and full of natural light, beautiful fabrics and detailed millwork. This design has addressed the needs of both the infants and their families so they can spend valuable time healing together.
"The project is a wonderful improvement to the previous unit. It is very warm, comfortable and inviting for our patients, families, staff and visitors," said Timothy O’Ferrall, AIA, Sr. Project Manager for Texas Health Resources.
Texas Health Resources (THR) is one of the largest faith-based, nonprofit health care delivery systems in the United States. The system serves more than 6.3 million people living in 16 counties in north central Texas. THR operates 13 hospitals including Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas.