Healthcare Construction in the Broken Arrow Hospital District

Adding a hospital floor without disrupting the patients on the floors below is a test of planning, and the Broken Arrow hospital district offers a good example of why it matters. The district's main campus has been built in stages, and the owner has kept adding capacity while the building continues to serve patients. We build additions, renovations, clinics and medical office space for healthcare operators, and we plan every project around infection control, noise, vibration and patient flow.

REBusiness reported in September 2010 that a six-story, 189,000-square-foot hospital with a connected four-story, 110,000-square-foot medical office building was completed on 17 of a 68-acre development, opening with 68 beds and room to expand to 140. KJRH later reported that the hospital opened a new 18-bed floor of 4 ICU beds and 14 progressive care beds, an $8 million investment estimated to serve 1,500 patients a year and add 40 jobs. A campus sized with room to grow is what we recommend to any healthcare owner, and it is what makes later additions faster.

The pages below describe how we approach hospital additions, medical office buildings and clinics around the campus, how we handle code and infection control requirements, and how we coordinate with operators who cannot close their doors. For services across the metro, see our healthcare construction page.

Construction beside a working hospital creates hazards that an ordinary job does not. Dust can carry fungal spores into patient rooms, noise and vibration disturb care, and a shared elevator or corridor can carry contaminants. Hospitals typically require an infection control risk assessment before work, with barriers, negative air pressure in work zones, sticky mats at entries and routine cleaning.

We prepare those plans with the owner's infection prevention team. Hard barriers go up before demolition, work areas are kept under negative pressure and monitored, material is moved on routes that avoid patient areas, and workers are briefed on the rules. If a project involves penetrating a floor or wall in a surgical or critical care area, we schedule the work with the clinical team so that rooms can be taken offline safely.

Healthcare owners in the district ask for several kinds of project. Vertical additions place new floors on top of existing structure, which requires verifying capacity and coordinating shutdowns of mechanical and electrical systems. Shell-space build-outs finish floors that were planned for future use. Medical office buildings and clinics need exam rooms, imaging suites and procedure rooms with the correct utilities.

Each requires different skills. A build-out of shell space can move quickly when the infrastructure was planned. A vertical addition depends on structural analysis and careful sequencing. A clinic is mostly about the rhythm of rooms, plumbing and gases. Our medical office construction service covers the clinic and office side, and our hospital page covers inpatient work.

The Broken Arrow Economic Development Corporation lists Ascension St. John Broken Arrow at approximately 700 employees and also lists Saint Francis Health System, Cornerstone Specialty Hospitals Broken Arrow, Baptist Village of Broken Arrow and Utica Park Clinic among healthcare employers with 50 or more employees. Within a few miles, then, a builder sees acute care, specialty hospital, senior living and outpatient clinic work.

News On 6 reported in October 2021 that Ascension Saint John announced a $16 million expansion at its Broken Arrow and Owasso hospitals, with construction expected to finish in early 2023. A pattern emerges: operators add capacity in measured steps rather than in single large projects. We organize our healthcare systems work to support that pattern, with standing relationships to the trades who understand clinical requirements.

A hospital job site has two safety audiences: the construction trade partners and the patients, visitors and staff who pass beside it. The construction trade partners receive an orientation on the hospital's rules, badge entry, restricted areas, evacuation routes and what to do when a clinical alarm sounds. Tools and materials move on assigned routes, and we do not use patient elevators or corridors without permission.

Visitors and families notice construction, and a clear entrance, signage and parking plan keep them from wandering into hazards. When the project touches a public entrance, we install covered walkways, protect lighting and keep accessible routes open. Anyone walking from the parking area or the connected medical office building should always have a safe, lit path to the door. Across the city, patients also reach us through the retail corridor described on our Kenosha and Elm Place page.

Cost per square foot is higher for healthcare than for ordinary offices because of the systems behind the walls: medical gas, emergency power, higher air change rates, nurse call, data and security, and finishes that can be cleaned and disinfected. Phasing adds cost too, since barriers, night work and temporary utilities are part of the price of working next to patients. We show these items as separate lines so owners can see why a project costs what it does.

Contingency should also be larger than on a typical project. Opening ceilings in an existing building reveals conditions that no drawing showed, and a hospital cannot leave a hole in a wall overnight. We recommend a contingency that reflects the age of the building and the extent of demolition, and we agree on how it will be used before work starts.

Hospital projects face several layers of review. The statewide minimum for commercial construction is the 2024 International Building Code as amended, effective September 14, 2026, and healthcare occupancies also fall under fire and life safety rules and health department review. Medical gas, emergency power and nurse call systems add specialty testing and certification steps.

We map those steps at the start of a project and place them on the schedule: plan review, state health review, fire marshal inspection, medical gas verification, commissioning and final licensure inspection. Owners often discover late that licensure inspection depends on staff training and equipment calibration, so we ask early which items are on the critical path.

A hospital addition runs on a series of shutdowns: electrical panels, medical gas lines, fire alarm zones, chilled water, and sometimes elevators. Each shutdown has to be requested, approved by clinical leadership, scheduled for a low-census period and often done at night. We plan shutdowns as separate tasks with their own preparation, and we confirm materials and crews before the date.

Equipment lead times are the second driver. Generators, switchgear, air handlers, imaging equipment and elevators can take months, and the owner's equipment vendor must coordinate shielding, power and structural supports. Our long-lead procurement approach tracks each item and flags risks to the schedule early.

Tell us the building, the department or the clinic and your target date. We will review infection control, phasing and equipment, and give you a schedule that protects patient care.

Can you build while patients stay in the hospital?

Yes, with barriers, negative air, protected routes and agreed work hours. The owner infection prevention team approves the plan, and we monitor it daily.

How do you handle utility shutdowns?

Each shutdown is a scheduled task. We prepare materials and crews in advance, request approval from clinical leadership and perform the work during low-census periods, often at night.

What is the difference between shell space and a vertical addition?

Shell space is an unfinished floor planned for later build-out, with structure and risers in place. A vertical addition adds new floors over existing structure and needs structural verification and longer sequencing.

How long do approvals take for a hospital project?

It varies with scope. Plan review, health department review and life-safety inspections each take time, and we put them on the schedule from the start.

Do you build medical office buildings as well as hospital space?

Yes. Medical office buildings, clinics and imaging suites are part of our regular work, and they share many requirements with hospitals.