A (construction) job well done

Silence has replaced the drilling, hammers and sawing that penetrated the hallways of the New Ulm Medical Center for more than a year during its $9.8 million renovation.

The lack of noise is almost music to the ears of staff, patients and visitors.

Music to the ears of medical center administrators are the words ‘on time’ and ‘under budget’ – which describe how the project ended.

Except for the smell of fresh paint and a lingering construction worker putting on finishing touches, construction -- slated to finish in August -- has ended.

The project did not require the entire amount of contingency funds, which is money set aside to deal with unexpected expense, so those dollars will be used to complete items that were eliminated early in the planning process in order to achieve the budget, said Steve Hatkin, the medical center’s assistant administrator and director of finance.

“When we went into the project we had a very tight budget and we had to prioritize what we wanted and cut out some of things that we would have liked to have gotten done,” he said. “Because of their (Ryan Companies, Inc.) work, we are able to some of those things back in.

“It’s really exciting, we’re going to be able to do quite a bit.”

Potential projects include making the doors at the clinic entrance more patient friendly by changing them to mirror the hospital entrance doors and extending the finishing work between construction zones for a more congruent look, Hatkin said.

Hatkin credits the Minneapolis-based construction firm, which was involved in building the Mayo Clinic facility in Scottsdale, AZ, and Mercy Hospital in Iowa, as being the main reason for the early finish.

“They were able to gain our trust in terms of meeting deadlines, turning over areas and working in occupied spaces with minimal disruption because they felt comfortable having a lot of activity around them,” he said. “And our staff was very flexible in giving them sections to renovate more quickly than we had originally planned.”

The construction superintendent was in constant communication with medical center department heads to keep them informed of changes and to eliminate any surprises, Hatkin added.

“Ryan Companies and the sub-contractors went above and beyond what was expected of them,” he said. “I continue to be amazed at how quickly the project has gone from conception to completion.”

Some of the final pieces of the construction project include the delivery of the radiology department’s new MRI equipment, completing the emergency department’s nine exam rooms and two procedure rooms and revamping the clinic front desk, which will improve patient flow and confidentiality.

“One thing being finished earlier allows us to do is focus all of our efforts on implementing the automated medical record system,” Hatkin said. “As hard as we worked to minimize construction distractions, there were distractions. Having corrected many of the issues with the old space, we can focus on providing the most exceptional care and service to our patients.”

New Ulm Medical Center
1324 Fifth North Street
New Ulm, MN 56073
507-233-1000
Maps & directions