Aging medical facilities at a pair of U.S. Air Force bases in the Southeast will be replaced over the next three years, delivering the military’s world-class healthcare to the servicemen and women, and their families, who are stationed there.

Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in Goldsboro, N.C., will receive a new 107,000-square-foot medical clinic to replace an existing 5­0-year-old facility. The $60 million center will serve 18 different clinical disciplines within the new space.

Meanwhile, 430 miles to the south, near Macon, Ga., Warner Robins Air Force Base will see two existing medical buildings renovated and combined into one cohesive, 71,000-square-foot ambulatory clinic. This $30 million upgrade will expand its medical mall concept, while creating peaceful areas for patient respite and a collegial atmosphere for patients and staff.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers selected Heery International to handle the design-build effort for both projects, which are projected for completion in late 2016. While they’re distinct projects, the two clinics are tied together by a similar approach to planning, design, and construction.

The projects rely on a delivery methodology that combines Lean design principles and integrated project delivery (IPD). Additionally, the projects will both be using initial outfitting and transition planning (IO&T) services. The combined efforts are being used to complete the project on time, on budget, and with minimum change orders.

The IPD process on the projects involves all stakeholders—from the architects, designers, and engineers to specific users such as nurses, physicians, and administrators—in the planning and design. This methodology brings the entire project team together in the early planning stages to promote clear communication of the goals and a collaborative discussion of proposed changes, resulting in faster project delivery, reduced cost, and increased team collaboration.

IO&T planning is used to ensure that the building occupants have everything they need from the day they move in. For example, for ambulatory clinics like these, not only is the furniture, furnishing and medical equipment in place on day one, but so are rubber gloves, tongue depressors, and sterile medical instruments.

The Air Force has also begun using Lean principles to develop design requirements for ambulatory care clinics. This approach creates flexible spaces that not only deliver on patient care imperatives but also are efficient and cost-effective.  

Both projects employ LEED for Healthcare standards and are targeted to achieve LEED Silver certification. The buildings will employ the latest designs and materials to achieve energy savings and reduce waste as well as offer ample natural light—for energy savings as well as to create welcoming and recuperative places for patients and staff.