St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor to build $30 million outpatient surgery facility

The project remains in the design phase, and will replace the hospital’s current outpatient surgery facilities, which officials describe as dated and inefficient.

The work comes two years after the hospital completed construction of the second of two new patient towers

Rooms in the current outpatient surgery facility -- which is a part of the Reichert Health Area on the hospital's campus -- were built about 32 years ago.

The rooms are about 300 square feet -- which is too small for technology improvements that would improve the quality of outpatient care, said Tom Tocco, vice president of support services and capital project management for St. Joseph Mercy Health System.

“We see right now that the clinical quality and service delivery is disadvantaged by the physical limitations in our surgical facility,” Tocco said.

The two-story structure will add about 45,000 to 50,000 square feet to the hospital, and will attach to the west side of the existing in-patient surgery pavilion, adjacent to the hospital’s cafe courtyard.

The first floor of the addition will have eight operating rooms, each about 500 to 600 square feet, Tocco said.

The second floor will have two “hybrid” operating rooms, which will be about 900 to 1,000 square feet each. Only one of the rooms will be fully completed during the initial construction project, Tocco said.

The hybrid operating rooms incorporate interventional radiology with traditional operating room functions.

Patient intake, drop-off and waiting will all happen at the rear door of the hospital.

“We simply can’t handle the patient intake through the front door of the hospital because of internal constraints,” Tocco said, while outlining the project in May during a meeting of the Washtenaw Contractors Association.

A new drive and entryway will be created to separate the patient entry area from the part of the hospital where the garbage is picked up and deliveries are dropped off.

The current outpatient surgery facility is connected through a series of corridors to the inpatient facility.

“This will give us some additional, very favorable access and attributes to both staff and support services and equipment that we currently do not enjoy,” Tocco said, noting the addition will increase the efficiency of hospital services.

The hospital is working with the Detroit office of the architectural firm Harley Ellis Devereaux on the project, as well as with contractor Barton Malow -- the same company that built the inpatient surgery pavilion, Tocco said.

Bids will be accepted beginning in September or October, Tocco said. Site work on the foundations for the building will follow this fall.

The addition will be completed January 2014 and ready for occupancy by spring 2014.