Our firm has been working at Wheeling Hospital for over 30 years and we have been the structural engineer for every major project on their campus. With two hospitals, two clinics, four outpatient centers, a continuous care center and wellness center, Wheeling Hospital provides premium healthcare to residents of the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia and Eastern Ohio. From labor and delivery to specialized rehabilitation, the hospital and its affiliates have an excellent reputation for treating patients of all ages.

Committed to providing excellent care, the hospital had outgrown their current emergency department so they opted to expand their facility to better serve the community. This seven-story addition is the first multi-story addition to the hospital in several years and is extremely visible when entering the hospital campus. Therefore, the design of the structure was critical to the project’s success.

One major challenge for this project was connecting to the existing buildings that surrounded this new tower. There is the original, six-story hospital tower to the east. A one-story addition to the south had one room that needed to remain operational during construction, and there was the existing loading dock roof that required a new ambulance bay and generator room above. SMBH paid special attention to these details and coordinated extensively with the architect to overcome this challenge.

In addition, the site is on expansive shale bedrock, so deep foundations and special detailing was required to prevent damage from the expansive soils. The key to success on this project was the excellent communication and collaborative spirit between all members of the design team.