If an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, Rush University Medical Center has a life-saving device in its RUSH Heart Scan. The renowned teaching hospital's recruitment of the physician who helped develop this cardiac-screening use for the electron-beam-computed tomography (EBT) scanner was a significant addition to the hospital's arsenal of diagnostic capabilities -- the challenge was to carve out space to house it.
John H. Driscoll, Alter+Care President, who was responsible for real estate development at Rush, had to locate 4,000 SF in the intensely used urban hospital to create clinical and office space for the RUSH Heart Scan -- in just six months. Rush identified an existing driveway adjacent to the professional building that was no longer used and decided to retrofit this wasted space to accommodate the new scanner and related office space.
The ground floor location close to the street provides easy patient accessibility. Driscoll, the architects and physicians coordinated closely to design the space to accommodate the new addition to make the RUSH Heart Scan operational within the very short timeframe. The project team also fast-tracked the development and permitting processes and fine-tuned contractor scheduling and materials deliveries to accelerate construction.