Architects Hawaii Ltd. (AHL), the Honolulu-based company that’s designing the new hospital to be built at Tafuna, is partnering with what it describes as “two global leaders in the design, engineering and delivery” of health facilities, Jacobs and WSP.
Hospital projects that AHL lists as having been designed, engineered and built by the AHL Jacobs and WSP team are:
- Hoag Hospital
- Scripps Health
- Children’s Hospital of Orange County
- City of Hope, Irvine and Duarte Campuses
- UC Davis Health
The company submitted a 79-page proposal in response to the Request for Proposals for the new hospital, which maps out how it will carry out the project.
The first is what brought the AHL team to the territory last week, the expectations survey in which it identifies expectations from local stakeholders.
Their aim is to define/clarify comprehensively the scope, including technical constraints, technology, security, safety and other aspects of the project.
AHL says that they will integrate the initial program plan it develops and identify efficiencies by developing and confirming scope, schedule and cost definition.
There’s also client surveys. “Communicating performance feedback to support continuous improvement is key,” says the company’s proposal. “Corrective actions are promptly prepared and implemented. Surveys go to senior management for review, analysis and verification that corrective actions have been accomplished.”
The contractor also proposes Quality Audits, whereby a Project Audit Summary Report uses a scorecard to assess project health and performance improvement. Along with this is monitoring and assessing deliverables. AHL will perform reviews and checks at critical milestones to check on conformance to requirements.
At their presentations last week, the AHL representatives said that their design philosophy for the new hospital will incorporate the following key elements:
- A place the people of American Samoa embrace as being for them and reflective of their priorities and values.
- Designed to welcome the community, patients, people, and staff from the moment they enter the campus.
- Incorporates a deep understanding of American Samoa’s stories, people, art and landscape.
- The hospital must be designed efficiently to promote skill, economy, and comfort.
The medical world is changing rapidly, and design considerations must reflect the latest technology or soon to be adopted advancements. Staff, patient, and property safety and security are crucial and it is designed to ensure medical, sterile and food supplies are available and provided quickly and efficiently.
AHL plans to begin construction in a year and a half and because the project is funded with ARPA money, it must be completed and in use by December 2026.
