Guardian demolished the existing, outdated educational nursing facilities at Utah Valley University (UVU) and built a new, up to date facility that included state of the art technology to help further facilitate learning and operations.
The purpose of this project, UVU Health Professions Bldg. Nursing Remodel, was to upgrade from old educational nursing facilities to newer, high tech facilities to accommodate changing nursing technology and a growing student population at UVU. All of the educational wings at UVU are part of massive core and shell concrete structures connected by long, enclosed hallways. Many buildings often contain both offices and classrooms. The building we were working in housed not only the nursing wing, but also the Health Department, faculty offices, and Dental Hygiene labs. We had to complete this project while keeping the rest of the building open and operational.
This project was a challenge because there were no as-built plans provided, and the area had already been remodeled several times before. We also had to work on an accelerated schedule with dozens of change orders and major RFIs. This area had to be open by the start of school in the middle of August, and demolition could only start at the beginning of May.
We were able to overcome our challenges by implementing pull planning, increased subcontractor coordination and working every day of the week. Owner coordination was critical, and we were in daily contact with our owner and our Engineer.
When the project was completed, the new nursing facility had 15,000 square feet of usable space, complete with 22 hospital beds and bed stations. These bed stations had operable air and oxygen for training purposes, as well as mounted tv and computer monitors that allowed students and faculty to communicate and practice medical recording. There were 4 new simulation rooms that allowed the students to practice lifelike simulations ranging anywhere from routine hospital visits to childbirth to trauma situations. The remodel also included a new student lounge and faculty lounge for use outside of class time.