DPR Construction, Inc., a forward-thinking commercial contractor/construction manager, has begun the first phase of the $90 million expansion project at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Phoenix, Ariz. The expansion program will increase the bed capacity from 508 to 625 beds and add a three-story building, housing a new diagnostics and medical imaging center, an ambulatory care center, cardiology, and a women's center. In addition, there will be a new chiller plant and a new five-story parking garage. The multi-phase project is scheduled for completion in 2004. OWP&P, with offices in Chicago and Phoenix, is the architect for the project.

"Good Samaritan provides more hospital care than any Arizona hospital. This is a flagship project and has been a dedicated team effort from the very beginning. The phasing and logistics are all dependent to one another and are planned to limit the disruptions to the patients, staff, doctors and visitors of Good Sam," comments Steve Seiler, CEO of Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center.

According to Hamilton Espinosa of DPR in Phoenix, to minimize the impact construction may have on the operating facility, as well as increase communication throughout the project, DPR, in coordination with OWP&P, has utilized Four-Dimensional Computer Aided Design (4D CADD) technology. Through 4D CADD, DPR has incorporated floor plans and building elevations with the construction schedule to animate the building process, allowing hospital administration to visualize the building under construction.

"The 4D CADD model we've developed for Good Sam includes any phasing issues, temporary routing, site logistics, construction sequencing and phasing and constructibility issues and allows the customer and hospital staff to see the project being built virtually," said Espinosa, who will be joining other members of DPR's Virtual Builders Group at the upcoming ASHE conference in Orlando to discuss the benefits of 4D CADD Technology. The group will be speaking on Wed., Jan. 27, at 9:30 a.m.

In addition to the Good Samaritan project in Phoenix, DPR is currently working on more than 35 healthcare projects across the country for such customers as Blue Shield of California, Catholic Healthcare West, HCA - The Healthcare Company, Kaiser Permanente and Oregon Health and Science University, among others. Ranked as one of the nation's Top 25 healthcare builders and 15th largest general contractor in 2001 by ENR, DPR has been "building great things" since it was founded in 1990 by Doug Woods, Peter Nosler and Ron Davidowski (a.k.a. "the initials" or D, P and R) and is the recipient of Andersen's Global Best Practices Award for "Creating Customer Value in the New Economy."

DPR specializes in technically demanding projects in healthcare, biotech/ pharmaceutical, corporate, digital media and broadcasting, energy and on-site power generation, education, mission critical (data/telecom), entertainment and warehouse and distribution industries. With more than 3,000 professional staff and union crafts persons, DPR has 18 offices in Atlanta, Ga.; Austin, Dallas and Houston, Texas; Denver, Colo.; Fairfax and Richmond, Va.; Newport Beach, Pleasanton, Redwood City, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Jose and San Diego, Calif.; Phoenix, Ariz.; Portland, Ore.; Seattle, Wash.; and Singapore. For more information, please visit DPR's Website at http://www.dprinc.com.