Work is expected to start in June on one of the largest construction projects in the history of Davenport, Iowa.

It just so happens that the project involves healthcare, a sector that survived the recession quite well.

The $138.5 million plan will be the largest project ever taken on by the major healthcare provider in what is known as the Quad Cities area in Iowa and Illinois, Genesis Health System. The project is slated to add 203,000 square feet of new space and renovate 115,000 square feet of existing space at the east campus of the system's two-campus flagship hospital, Genesis Medical Center.

Ever since Genesis was formed in 1994 by the merger of Mercy and St. Luke's hospitals, there has remained some duplication of services on the two campuses. Officials note that one of the major goals of the project is to eliminate those redundancies, making one campus the primary provider of inpatient services while the other focuses mostly on outpatient and longer-term care.

Most of the work is slated for the system's east campus, which will become home to the hospital's only surgery center. A new seven-story tower will have 12 surgical suites, an expanded emergency department (ED), and three floors for inpatient beds – 64 beds on two floors immediately upon the project's completion and an open floor that could eventually add another 32 beds.

The tower, which will be built atop the hospital's current cafeteria, kitchen and executive office area, is slated for completion in 2017.

In the meantime, the focal point at the hospital's other campus, Genesis Medical Center West Central Park, will be shifted to outpatient and longer-term care.

“This major project, the largest ever for Genesis Health System, is designed with several goals, including patient safety, quality and service; the use of technology and innovation for high performance and patient outcomes; and efficient delivery of care,'' said Doug Cropper, Genesis Health System's president and CEO. “When the project is completed … Genesis will be positioned to be a leader in a rapidly changing healthcare industry.”

Officials say the project has been in planning for a number of years as a way to respond to changes in the country's healthcare delivery model. They add that the new operating rooms (ORs) will help propel the hospital to the forefront of technology, as its existing and outdated ORs date to the 1960s.

Since the formation of Genesis two decades ago, the system has grown to include five hospitals and numerous outpatient clinics in a 10-county region of eastern Iowa and western Illinois. It is the largest employer in Scott County, Iowa, as well as the third largest in the Quad City area of Davenport and Bettendorf, Iowa, and Moline and Rock Island, Ill. The population of the Quad Cities Combined Statistical Area (CSA) is about 475,000.

The construction manager for the project is Estes-Dunn, a joint venture of Davenport-based Estes Construction and Kansas City, MO-based J.E. Dunn Construction Group. The designer is Madison, WI-based Flad Architects.