$1.2 billion JPS Health Network project to start with community-based clinics
The $1.2 billion project to redesign the Tarrant County’s public hospital network inched closer to construction Thursday, when county commissioners heard the first design and construction proposals that will begin the years-long project.
The massive overhaul of the JPS Health Network will begin with one relatively small project: The design and construction of a medical home. Medical homes refer to a model of primary health care where patients can get everything they need in one location, from an annual check-up with their doctor or a visit with a social worker to a pharmacy where they can pick up their prescriptions.
Ultimately, the hospital plans to build four such medical homes throughout the county to increase access to regular, preventative care outside of the main hospital campus in Fort Worth’s medical district. On Thursday, commissioners heard proposals for the first of these homes, which will be in far southwest Fort Worth.
Commissioners heard proposals from Byrne Construction Services, Post L Group, and SBL Architecture; Turner Construction Company, Potere Construction, and Bennett Partners; Azteca Enterprises and KAI Enterprises; and Whiting-Turner Contracting Company and Corgan.
Commissioners will rate the four proposals and then consult with hospital leaders before making a final decision on which groups to award the project. County administrator G. K. Maenius said commissioners would likely award the project in April, and construction on the first building is expected to begin later this year.
The timelines for the project varied by contractor. The proposal from Turner, Potere and Bennett Partners estimated a substantial completion of the clinic by October 2023. A competing bid from Azteca and KAI estimated the building could be occupied in March 2024.
Elected officials quizzed contractors on some of the project’s major challenges, including how to keep the project on schedule and budget given the volatility of the supply chain and workforce shortages, as well as how to update the design of the building given the pandemic and any future infectious diseases the community may face.
County Judge Glen Whitley asked each contractor about the feasibility of taking the design for the first medical home and using parts of the design at other sites throughout the county to save money and time.
”We would love to have all of the medical homes built in the next couple of years,” Whitley said.
The medical home will be step in the biggest overhaul of JPS facilities in decades. Voters backed the project in 2018 when they overwhelmingly voted to approve an $800 million bond to finance most of the redesign. The hospital has said it will fundraise another $400 million to complete the project. Officials have previously said the bond program had been delayed first by possible reforms to a 2019 property tax law, and later by the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to building four medical homes throughout Tarrant County, the bond will pay for a redesign of main hospital and a behavioral health inpatient hospital.
This story was originally published March 17, 2022 at 5:20 PM.
