Staff Reports | Digital Free Press
Construction teams spent nearly three years building the new five-story U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic at the corner of 32nd and Van Buren street in central Phoenix — one of the largest in the nation.
The 275,000 square-foot facility, which opened last month, was designed by Hoefer Welker Architects and Dibble Engineering to include clinical space, a veterans resource center, education conference rooms and a canteen. The clinic is decreasing wait times, improving workload, and providing primary care, mental health, specialty care and ancillary services, a press release states.
According to U.S. Federal Properties Co. website, it was announced in June 2019 there would be four new U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) community-based outpatient health clinics, including Phoenix.
“These new clinics will expand the VA’s network of outpatient sites that serve nine million enrolled Veterans annually and help to accelerate their access to care,” the website states.
“The new Phoenix facility will be one of the largest VA outpatient clinics in the U.S., with more than half a million visits per year anticipated.” Adding, the design was inspired by Arizona’s vibrant color palette, striations, elevations and geological formations.
Phoenix VA is responsible for providing healthcare and other services to Veterans in Maricopa, Pinal, Gila and Navajo Counties in Arizona. There are around 120,000 current veteran enrollees in that area, and the number is projected to continue to grow over the next 20 years, according to according to Phoenix VA public affairs.
In the building of the facility, electrical contractor Rosendin partnered with general contractor Jacobsen Construction to build the state-of-the-art clinic, according to a news release.
“Every Jacobsen project starts with, ‘Why?’ We cannot think of a better, nobler answer to that all-important question than building hope and healing for veterans. This was our tagline, mission and motivation in building this exceptional outpatient clinic.”
— Greg Albertson, Jacobsen construction project manager
Rosendin supported Jacobsen by providing full-service electrical contractor services including design-assist work using BIM computer modeling. Rosendin also set up the main electrical distribution, nurse/patient communication system, emergency power and fire alarms, lighting, security, audio/visual displays, and specialty low-voltage systems.
“We are proud to have partnered with Jacobsen on this monumental project that will benefit Veterans in Arizona who sacrificed so much for our community and our country,” said Rosendin CEO Mike Greenawalt in the news release.
“As a Phoenix area resident, this project is special to me, and it is particularly special to the veterans working at Rosendin who are helping to build new health care facilities all around the country.”
Several Rosendin workers on the project served in the U.S. military, including Roberto Villegas, who used next-generation technology to keep the VA Outpatient Clinic project moving forward during the pandemic. He walked every floor using OpenSpace cameras to create 360-degree videos for weekly progress updates to key stakeholders.
“As a veteran of the U.S. Air Force embedded with units on the front lines, it gives me great pride to help build this innovative new clinic in my community that will provide the best possible care for my veteran brothers and sisters when they return home,” said Roberto Villegas, Rosendin assistant project manager, in the release. “I am thankful to Rosendin for the opportunity to work on this project, and to Jacobsen for creating a special ‘Wall of Heroes’ on the construction site with personal messages of appreciation to veterans.”
Rosendin welcomes veterans who are considering a career in construction and helps them transition their skills. Rosendin also holds annual fundraisers to support military members and their families, including over $1.4 million raised to date for the Navy SEAL Foundation, the release states.
Jacobsen has constructed several state-of-the-art outpatient clinics for the Department of Veterans Affairs in Colorado Springs, San Jose, and multiple cities throughout Texas. Other military projects completed by Jacobsen include its award-winning construction of the Camp Williams Center, a training complex for the men and women serving in the Utah National Guard Special Forces.
