Genesis Medical Center Purchasing Plan Ensures Local Participation

ZANESVILLE, Ohio — Genesis HealthCare System has decided how the selection process will work for choosing contractors, suppliers and subcontractors for construction of its new medical center, which is scheduled to open in 2015. While the estimated cost for the new medical center is $125 million, the local economic impact during construction is expected to be in the range of $250 million. A significant portion of this is attributed to the purchase of services from local contractors and laborers.

“This is the community's new medical center, and it's important to Genesis that members of our community have an opportunity to be involved in the construction,” said Al Burns, chief development officer at Genesis.

Overall management of the construction will be in the hands of Turner Construction Company's Columbus, Ohio office.

“One of the key criteria during our construction manager selection process was a firm's commitment to using local contractors. Turner demonstrated an exceptional track record in this area, which gave them a definite edge,” Burns added.

The purchasing plan for the project describes the general approach for soliciting and awarding bids. It is broken into several categories, each with a description of how local contractors will be involved.

Bids for construction of the new cancer center and for renovation of an existing building on the Bethesda site to house behavioral health services will be offered exclusively to local general contractors and subcontractors.

Construction of the new patient tower, renovation of the existing Bethesda Hospital facility, and surrounding site improvements will be divided into multiple bid packages and will be open to local and non-local contractors.

“We know there are very skilled contractors in our region that can provide many of the services, and we want to ensure they have an opportunity to be considered. Some services require a level of specialization that is not available locally, or the volume of the work may be such that we must supplement with out-of-area subcontractors to meet deadlines. We are confident our plan for how we approach purchasing these services will ensure ample opportunities for local participation,” added Burns.

Design assist services for mechanical/plumbing and electrical work for the new patient tower and renovation of the existing Bethesda Hospital building will be subcontracted, and commitment to local participation will be part of the evaluation process for selecting winning bids.

“Our goal is to build the new medical center in the most cost-effective way possible, while adhering to high quality standards. Contractors will be selected based on their ability to help us accomplish this goal,” stated Burns.

To be considered, contractors must be prequalified to ensure they meet project requirements. Bid invitations will be solicited from those who have met the prequalification criteria. Prequalification forms are available online.

Bids for mechanical/plumbing and electrical work on the new patient tower and renovation of the existing Bethesda Hospital will be solicited this summer. The specific timeline for bids on the other components of the project has not been finalized. Additional information will be provided as details are confirmed.

Local contractors interested in learning more about the bid process are asked to call Turner Construction at 614-984-3000. Several subcontractor vendor fairs will be held during the third and fourth quarter of 2012 in Zanesville, Coshocton and Cambridge to provide more information and answer questions. For more information, visit http://www.genesishcs.org/news/new-genesis-medical-center/.