Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center’s Critical Care Building is scheduled for completion in fall 2021, and the project is on track to exceed its economic inclusion goals.
At the beginning of the project, Cincinnati Children’s set out to spend 30% of overall construction contracts with certified minority (MBE) and women (WBE) business enterprises. As of February 2020, the medical center forecasts it will surpass those goals and now anticipates achieving 32% MBE and WBE spend, which will total $101 million in contracts by the conclusion of the project.
In addition, Cincinnati Children’s surpassed its goal for 25% minority workforce inclusion. Thanks to its workforce training program, the Critical Care Building project currently boasts a 26% minority workforce, 30 local residents in the Uptown Workforce Development Initiative (UWDI). An additional nine residents are enrolled in workforce development programs and are on track for full-time positions, helping Cincinnati Children’s near its goal of placing 50 candidates into sustainable fulltime jobs.
“Going through the early planning, economic inclusion, workforce diversity and then engagement of local unemployed and underemployed individuals was very important for us,” said Michael Browning, Assistant Vice President Design, Construction, & Space Management at Cincinnati Children’s. “Ideally, we target the Uptown neighborhoods to recruit diverse employees who are previously unemployed or underemployed into a sustainable job where they would be given workforce training and skills, and then attachment to a full-time position.”
Cincinnati Children’s partnered with Messer Construction Co., which is leading the Critical Care Building project, to develop its workforce development program. Messer works with Easterseals’ Building Value division, which helps train individuals for construction jobs so they understand the demands before they set foot on a construction site.
“I think first and foremost our workforce and our spending should reflect our community as much as possible. We want to be good neighbors and invite the community to be part of the project,” said Bernie Suer, Senior Vice President of Operations, Messer Construction Co.
The Critical Care Building is designed to address the medical center’s rapidly growing number of patients and services. Cincinnati Children’s Intensive Care Units often operate at 90% capacity or more, and the number of patients spending the night is steadily increasing. The Critical Care Building will expand pediatric, cardiac and neonatal intensive care units and add 249 beds, helping Cincinnati Children’s keep up with demands as one of the top pediatric hospitals in the country.
The 632,500-square-foot building is located on Cincinnati Children’s main campus in Avondale, allowing multidisciplinary teams to collaborate across the medical center. Messer hosted a topping out ceremony in November 2019 to place the building’s final beam. Now, construction crews are in the final phases focused on exterior and interior finishes. Cincinnati Children’s expects to occupy the Critical Care Building in November 2021.
“It's important to not just have spending goals and to spend money with diverse-owned companies, but to make sure that the paychecks are going to as many diverse candidates as possible,” said Browning. “It’s an opportunity, it's a sustainable work skill, it's a trait that can't be taken away, that doesn't have a time limit. And, on top of that, it's tough to get skills in trades in this economy. So, it is helping to build the skilled labor force with new candidates and providing diversity there.”
For more information about the Critical Care Building and Cincinnati Children’s economic inclusion efforts, visit www.cincinnatichildrens.org.