Allen Hospital Emergency Department and Heart & Vascular Center

The addition of the 76,000 sq. ft. Pauline Barrett Pavilion at Allen Hospital allows the hospital to provide an elevated level of care to a broad spectrum of people across the Cedar Valley. Prior to the completion of the addition, Allen Hospital’s Emergency Department was treating approximately 100% more patients each year than their facility was designed to serve. Comprising approximately 13,000 sq. ft., the new 24-bed Emergency Department is almost twice the size of the original. The new department provides additional exam rooms, a dual trauma room and radiology, all revolving around a central nursing station and work space.

By having Knutson join the team early and estimate the project during the design phase, Allen Hospital was able to save money by using Knutson’s suggestions for Value Analysis (VA). The GMP was set based upon our Design Development estimate and 22 VA items, with a 4% contingency. All savings were returned to Allen Hospital. Due to the open dialogue between Allen and Knutson, Allen was able to use most of the contingency for scope changes that were initiated during construction, including: doubling the size of the parking lot, adding a third elevator and adding a covered walkway between the new building and the existing buildings.

The new Allen Heart & Vascular Center on the second floor of the Pauline Barrett Pavilion centralizes cardiac treatment areas, eliminating the need to transport heart patients to more than a dozen treatment sites spread throughout the hospital. The center also includes an inpatient Cardiac Care Unit, covering the entire third floor of the new Allen building.