IMC breaks ground on New Hospital
IMC broke ground today on a new $42 million hospital in Quakertown for St. Luke’s University Health Network. The builder is using a fairly new process on the 131,000-square-foot project that will save time and construction costs.
“We are prefabricating the exterior walls through panelization and interior patient room headwalls that will include all medical gas and electrical infrastructure,” explained Art Brinkworth, PE, healthcare project executive for IMC Construction. “The above ceiling utilities will be installed in racks and fabricated in a warehouse off-site while we’re erecting the steel, concrete and the roof components on. That will save a lot of time.”
IMC is working with Worth & Co. in the prefab process, and the interior headwall panels will be constructed in its fabrication facility not far from the construction site in Milford Township, Bucks County.
“Our people will be working in a controlled environment, and not up on ladders,” said Brinkworth. “Then the racks will just roll in and be positioned in the ceiling space. It’s much safer, efficient and will save time and money.”
The new hospital is being constructed as a replacement hospital for the existing Quakertown Hospital, which is landlocked in its downtown location. The new building will include 40 private patient rooms, which can be expanded to an additional 40; 17 diagnostic radiology departments with cat scan, nuclear medicine, mammography, and fluoroscopy machines; surgical and emergency departments; and a laboratory, pharmacy and cafeteria. The cafeteria will feature a large, full-service kitchen. The existing hospital will be repurposed for doctor’s offices, outpatient care and behavioral health facilities.
The St. Luke’s hospital team includes general contractor IMC Construction; architect MKSD Architects; structural engineer Pennoni; MEP engineers HB Engineers; civil engineer Langan Engineering; and medical equipment coordinator HBS.
St. Luke’s University Health Network is growing throughout the region and recently merged with Blue Mountain Health System in Carbon County and Sacred Heart Healthcare system in Lehigh County.
Pictured bottom L to R: Art Brinkworth (IMC Project Executive), Gary Millar (IMC Senior Superintendent), Tom Prescott (IMC Assistant Project Manager), Erick Tripp (IMC Senior Project Manager), Elizabeth DeCarlo (St. Luke’s Project Manager), Rob Cottone (IMC President), Lee Levicoff (St. Luke’s Vice President & Director of Facilities Planning & Construction), and Dennis Pfleiger (President St. Luke’s Quakertown).
