Commercial Services Case Study: Health Care Facility
Children’s Hospital of Richmond (CHoR) at VCU’s Children’s Pavilion is a 640,000-square-foot, $200 million pediatric facility that houses more than 40 outpatient
Children’s Hospital of Richmond (CHoR) at VCU’s Children’s Pavilion is a 640,000-square-foot, $200 million pediatric facility that houses more than 40 outpatient clinics, lab testing services, radiology and same-day surgery. The Children’s Pavilion is now the most advanced pediatric outpatient facility in the region. Prior to the move, the departments that now reside in the Children’s Pavilion were spread over the health system’s 52.3-acre campus and their Brook Road Campus, three miles away.
Through our integrated service model approach, our team, in collaboration with our partners at CHoR, developed a customized move plan specific to the organization’s unique needs and challenges.
Our collaborative approach to commercial moves.
Because our integrated service model means that every commercial move is different, we begin most moves with three steps:
- A walk through of the existing facility (or facilities in this case)
- A walk through of the new facility
- A planning session where we work together with the client to develop a move plan
This collaborative approach streamlined the Children’s Pavilion’s move, minimizing downtime and increasing efficiency. During our planning session, the project manager, who is dedicated to overseeing the success of the move, became acquainted with the client and their unique needs. The project manager served as a single point of contact for the client and for our crew members on-site.
Managing a multi-phase hospital relocation
The Children’s Pavilion move was two-fold: moving administrative staff and moving outpatient clinics.
More than 300 administrative staff and faculty members were moved from various locations across the VCU Medical Center campus onto one floor of the building over the course of five days. Each staff member was given six crates to pack any items that needed to be moved to the new building and those items were transported and delivered by Hilldrup crew members.
Clinics were moved more quickly to minimize the impact on patients. Once clinics were shut down, most were moved within 24-48 hours. The last clinics to move were shut down on Friday, packed up on Saturday and were open for business on Monday morning.
Some of the specific tasks and components that helped make the move a success included:
- Receiving and sorting
- Assembly of all items stored
- Moving of assembled items and existing offices furniture/
equipment - Full-time project manager to oversee the project
- Liquidation of unwanted materials
- Install and mounting of medical equipment
“The day of the move, Hilldrup basically brought a football team. I was amazed with how many people there were and how fast it went,” said Suzanne Britt, Director, CHoR’s Children’s Pavilion.
A successful move
Moving an entire health care facility was no small feat, and with clear communication the team was able to accomplish a lot in a short
amount of time.
- More than 40 clinics were transitioned from existing hospital space spread throughout the VCU Medical Center and Brook Road Campus into one central location, the Children’s Pavilion.
- Hilldrup’s full-time project manager coordinated with CHoR staff to prepare an estimated 400 staff members for the big move. The full-time project manager provided on-site supervision during the move.
- While the Children’s Pavilion was being built, Hilldrup’s Richmond warehouse served as a receiving, sorting an assembly area for new furnishings, supplies and hospital equipment.
