Sierra Vista Hospital is located in South-Central New Mexico in the historic city of Truth or Consequences, the county seat of Sierra County. With its proximity to the New Mexico Spaceport (anticipated to increase the healthcare needs of the community) and with the existing 1950’s era hospital approaching the end of its useful life, Sierra Vista Hospital hired the H + M Design Group to design a replacement facility. The replacement hospital is sited on a mesa overlooking the community, adjacent and attached to the existing hospital’s recently renovated emergency department, offering functional connectivity between the existing hospital and the new replacement hospital building. Existing utility placement and required connections to the existing hospital required thoughtful siting of the building and master planning for future buildings on the campus.
The design evolved to focus on balancing the needs of the community between inpatient and outpatient services, resulting in a new building that will serve both inpatient and outpatient needs. The new building features 11 new inpatient beds, surgery, pharmacy, lab, radiology, a 24-exam room outpatient clinic, a gift shop, and exterior garden spaces that connect to the main public circulation spine. The new building features a new drop-off area, entry, two-story lobby and clear circulation spines to simplify and enhance wayfinding for all users. Evidence based design principles were used to enrich the patient, visitor and staff experience, and connection to nature and natural light was a focus of the design. The finishes incorporate natural materials, colors and textures found in the desert and mountain regions of South-Central New Mexico, and utilize materials and fenestration to enhance energy efficiency. The exterior features low-maintenance, high performance materials and complementary architecture to the existing hospital and community. The existing hospital building remains as a support facility for the hospital complex.
With the assistance of the H+M Design Group, a Construction Manager was retained early in the project’s design process. The H+M Design Group worked with the Hospital and the Construction Manager to manage the project’s cost, quality, and schedule. Costs were managed by early analysis of design components and the New Mexico construction market to identify areas where costs could be mitigated. Value engineering items were identified, evaluated and prioritized by the project team. The quality of the work was managed by careful selection of subcontractors that could be cost competitive with a proven record of exemplary performance. Schedule was managed through careful initial project setup and planning, and constant communication to identify and solve potential issues affecting the schedule’s critical path. The design, construction and owner team collaborated effectively to address evolving programmatic changes that occurred during the construction phase. Phased construction was implemented so that the overall construction schedule could be minimized. The total project budget for the design and construction of the facility, equipment and associated sitework was $31 million.
Square Feet: 55,500
Construction Cost: $31,000,000
