2020 CMAA Project Achievement Award
Healthcare: Construction value greater than $50 Million
Boston Hope
Owner: Commonwealth of Massachusetts, City of Boston, Partners Health | CM: Suffolk Construction
Boston Hope is a field hospital constructed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. From the collaboration between the State of Massachusetts, the City of Boston, Partners Healthcare and Suffolk Construction, a 1,000-bed hospital was created inside the Boston Convention Center to treat patients recovering from COVID-19, as well as the unsheltered population. Within 24 hours of confirming the Boston Convention Center as the location, all parties met on-site and immediately began work to complete the field hospital construction in just four days.
The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented health crisis, and as a result, needed a unique and coordinated response to address these challenges. As general contractor, Suffolk worked efficiently and innovatively to help bring this project together. With an innovative modular strategy in mind, they rented two large warehouses in New Hampshire for their carpenters to pre-fabricate the walls and coat them in anti-bacterial paint. That way, modules could be shipped and then assembled on-site.
On-site assembly was completed in a day and a half with 150 carpenters, laborers, plumbers, pipe fitters, sheet metal workers, electricians, and teamsters working around the clock. Once completed, the field hospital housed two 500-room patient sections and associated nurse’s stations, six crash rooms (for patients who needed sudden intubation and ventilation), an X-ray room, a mental health/therapeutic room and a physical rehabilitation area. It was only through collaboration that this project was possible. Suffolk’s unique and long-standing relationship with Partners Healthcare had familiarized their team with the intricate challenges of constructing healthcare spaces. Suffolk also worked closely with the facilities team at the Boston Convention Center to ensure the smoothest assembly once inside.
This effort is by far one of the most rewarding projects Suffolk has had the opportunity to work on. Bringing together members of the community to support one goal was truly remarkable. In a time when the most vulnerable of their community were in need, Suffolk rose to the challenge and offered Boston hope.
