Jan 31st 2025 | Posted in Mary Scott Nabers' Insights, Opportunities by Adam Rollins

The needs for healthcare services throughout the U.S. continue to escalate and the efforts to meet them are creating high demand for construction, engineering, and technology expertise. Multi-million-dollar projects will soon launch in Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Kansas and Florida but many more are planned.

An academic teaching hospital in Washington D.C. will soon be replaced with a much larger facility. The $650 million construction project will deliver a new 600,000-square-foot hospital with a capacity for 225 patient beds and a Level 1 Trauma Center. It will be strategically located in front of an older existing hospital so that healthcare services are not interrupted during the construction phase. Once completed, the new building will be connected to the older facility to provide more academic space. Planning and design work is still underway and construction on this large initiative will begin later in 2025.

A state-of-the-art Cancer Care Center has been planned for Queens, New York City enhancing access to specialized cancer care services for the community. Currently, area facilities offer only limited cancer-related services such as educational programs, cancer screening, and early detection.

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The initiative is a collaborative effort between Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and the Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, with the State of New York committing up to $188 million to establish the new Comprehensive Cancer Care Center of Queens. The project will also provide a radiation and infusion therapy service campus that offers cutting-edge treatment options. Specific timelines for construction launch have not yet been established.

Residents of Easley, South Carolina will soon have a new Behavioral Health Hospital. This $138 million project is currently in the pre-construction planning and design phase. When completed, it will address an escalating demand for mental health services in the state. The hospital will be built on 46 acres and will provide 112 new patient beds. It will replace the existing 65-bed Marshall I. Pickens Psychiatric Hospital located on the Greenville Memorial Hospital campus. A construction launch is scheduled for late spring 2025.

For years, residents in the northeast area of Philadelphia have struggled to access affordable healthcare due to the limited availability of services, with only one city-operated health facility serving the region. To address immediate and urgent needs, Philadelphia’s Department of Public Health will build a new $25 million health center.

Designed as a comprehensive 55,000-square-foot facility on the Friends Hospital campus, it will be able to provide services to approximately 30,000 patients annually. When completed, physicians working there will have the space and resources required to offer a broad range of medical and wellness services. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2025.

A new $230 million medical facility is being planned in Kansas City to address a growing shortage of mental health service options. The Missouri Department of Mental Health has prioritized the construction of a modern psychiatric and mental health hospital with spaces designed to accommodate a wide range of mental health conditions. The facility will include specialized units designed for physicians to provide targeted support for forensic and acute care patients. Therapy and rehabilitation spaces will also be incorporated to facilitate recovery through therapeutic programs, counseling, and vocational training.

The new building will include space for administrative offices, staff training areas, and an outdoor recreation area to accommodate patients in need of physical exercise and relaxation. The project will be delivered through a construction manager at risk engagement. When the design process nears completion, solicitation documents will be issued, with construction tentatively planned for 2027.

Officials in Palm Beach County, Florida recently announced their approval to invest $10 million in a crisis care center that is projected to cost $60 million in total. The county’s Health Care District will cover the remaining construction costs along with the facility’s annual operating expenses. A site has not yet been secured, but plans for the effort are moving rapidly. When completed, the new facility will provide 24-hour mental health crisis care services for patients, regardless of their ability to pay.

The new center will also be designed to provide other types of crisis services. This will reduce the current reliance on emergency rooms and county jails for people in need of urgent mental health treatment. While there is no current timeline for construction to begin, there is a scheduled completion date of 2028.

As they move forward, these and other similar healthcare projects across the country will continue to create substantial demand for contractors, suppliers, and service providers across multiple industries.