March 6, 2026 News

Reid Health – Connersville Ambulatory Care Center

After acquiring an aging hospital in Fayette County, Indiana, Reid Health turned to the joint venture of Skanska Shook to replace it with a state-of-the-art, 101,000-square-foot Ambulatory Care Center in Connersville. The new facility provides modern, low‑maintenance healthcare spaces designed to better meet the needs of the surrounding community.

The CMAR (Construction Manager at Risk) project, which broke ground in March 2024, posed several challenges, including its aggressive timeline. But through innovative approaches and collaboration, the Skanska Shook team, along with partner HKS Architects, reached substantial completion of the facility, which includes an Ambulatory Care Center and a Medical Office Building, in October 2025.

The single-story Ambulatory Care Center includes a modern Emergency Department with two resuscitation rooms, 13 exam rooms, and two behavioral health rooms, a 24-hour full-service lab, and an advanced imaging suite with MRI, two X-rays, two CT scanners, mammography, and ultrasound. In addition, Shook provided support for the development of a dedicated lounge for emergency service personnel.

A connected two-story Medical Office Building provides five flexible primary care suites and four specialty care suites. Additional features include a generator-backed electrical system with a 12,000-gallon diesel tank, a two-bay ambulance garage with staff quarters, and an onsite helipad for emergency response.

Shook led preconstruction and BIM coordination and shared supervision and management responsibilities, working with up to 22 trade partners on the project. Shook also self-performed concrete and formwork.

Adherence to Schedule Through Innovation

The team tackled an aggressive schedule through a high level of collaboration and strong communication, with Shook and Skanska sharing best practices across the joint venture. A range of innovative strategies helped maintain momentum, including co‑locating client offices onsite, monthly scheduling meetings with trade partners, Procore for project management, drone photography for progress tracking, and a clear contact matrix to streamline communication.

The use of Planit software allowed the project to track compliance efficiently and consistently. In addition, daily stretch and flex exercises were conducted with the tradespeople to help prevent injuries and to share key safety communications for the day. In fact, the project’s safety program was recognized with an internal, companywide award from Shook.

The teams also met challenges such as delayed structural steel and electrical switchgear. To maintain the project’s progress, teams employed solutions such as resequencing the schedule and a temporary power approach, with the team engineering a safe, fully functional interim replication of the switchgear configuration, complete with plywood protection structures. This impressive approach allowed interior work to continue uninterrupted and ultimately kept the project on track.

Planning, Collaboration Drive Success

Weather also created pressures during the structural steel erection and site-development phases. With up to 100 skilled tradespeople onsite daily maintaining progress in cold conditions, it required exceptional coordination and a team of trade partners committed to working through difficult weather. Site logistics and schedules were meticulously and thoughtfully planned, allowing crews to maneuver safely and efficiently.

Ongoing communication and close collaboration with the client also played a key role. Teams built a strong working relationship with the onsite client liaison, whose timely input ensured decisions were made quickly and the schedule remained on track.

As the project neared completion in fall 2025, teams coordinated equipment deliveries for Reid Health, mounted medical devices, and tested critical components, including medical gas systems. They also carried out commissioning work to ensure all building systems were fully functional for patient care.

Reid Health’s Ambulatory Care Center opened its doors to patients in January 2026, bringing convenient, responsive healthcare to the residents of Connersville and the surrounding communities.