The Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla Tower II project comprises a new Hospital Tower of approximately 420,000 gross square feet (170 licensed beds) adjacent to the Prebys Cardiovascular Institute tower (Tower I) completed by the McCarthy-Bergelectric team in 2014, development of a site of approximately 125,000 gross square feet, and construction of a helistop atop the Tower—including the construction of the bridge and internal corridors connecting Tower II to Tower I.
The notable elements of the Scripps Memorial Hospital Tower II project include (9) ORs and (2) C-Section ORs, (3) IRs, (134) Med Surge Beds, (12) Flex ICU,(13) LDR, (18) NICU, (5) Antipartum, (12) Observation Beds, Kitchen and Food Service, MRI/CT & RF. Improvements within the existing CEP to support the new Tower II include two new generators, paralleling gear modifications, new ATS-3, chiller upgrade, and new sections to existing emergency (requires bus duct support relocation) and standard switchboards.
Innovative Programs/QC Procedures
Scripps Tower II has a co-op quality control process through Fieldwire, which documents all inspections for material, installations, and testing. Bergelectric and McCarthy submitted and reviewed all inspections with the Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) officials for quality and formal documentation. Bergelectric’s team had dedicated veteran field employees reviewing installations for quality control before inspections, streamlining the review, and ensuring our systems met code and Bergelectric standards.
Special Obstacles
Project management divided this project into increments broadly defined by project phases and scoped by specific disciplines. In rare occurrences, Bergelectric’s scope would land in other increments, and this overlap would require quick documentation and review to generate new HCAI-approved drawings for the increment, enabling us to proceed with our work. Bergelectric achieved this by working effectively with our field team, McCarthy, the engineer, and the architects once the team identified the scope within each increment.
Extenuating Circumstances
Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla Tower II project had the One Building Approach, meaning the new Tower II will integrate systems into Scripps Prebys Cardiovascular Institute (Tower I) and accessibility on every floor. The difficulty was performing construction alongside occupied Tower I . Simple activities had to be coordinated with the healthcare teams to prevent disruption to patient care, as well as detailed shutdown investigations to confidently inform all parties of when loss of power would be expected by the healthcare team and where.
What Makes This Project Unique?
Tower II is unique for a variety of reasons, such as a new rooftop Helipad, Futureproof infrastructure, safety redundancy equipment, and specialty care spaces. Part of this effort for the equipment was the high level of in-wall coordination between trades, the unique equipment, and the required position of electrical and data devices. Our team conducted a thorough investigation and coordinated to review every room and device on the project to account for specialty equipment, patient care equipment, and required infrastructure of other trades like plumbing, medical gas, and framing.
Many of Bergelectric’s key personnel on the Scripps La Jolla Memorial Hospital Tower II project were involved with installing the Scripps Prebys Cardiovascular Institute (Tower I) project, which was successfully completed by Bergelectric alongside McCarthy Building Company in 2014. Tower II is very similar to Tower I, which gave our team the upper hand. Many of our team members have over 30 years of experience in the industry—including many large-scale projects throughout San Diego, including the Scripps La Jolla Memorial Hospital campus.