SIH Comprehensive Cancer Center, Carterville, McCarthy Building Companies, Inc.

Spotlight on Southwestern Illinois Commercial Construction

Memorial Hospital-East, Shiloh, Holland Construction Services (Joint Venture)

By ALAN J. ORTBALS
    McCarthy Building Companies Inc. is nearing completion on a new, 43,500-square-foot comprehensive cancer center for Southern Illinois Healthcare in Carterville, Ill.
    The $24.5 million project is centrally located on a beautiful 15-acre, wooded lot on Illinois Route 13. Andy Poirot is McCarthy’s project manager on the development.
    The building will combine SIH’s cancer treatment services throughout Southern Illinois — including radiation oncology, medical oncology, an infusion center, specialty clinics, rehabilitation and laboratory — under one roof. Construction began in September 2013 and is expected to be completed late November 2014.
    Many of the original trees at the site were left intact to surround the structure that is made of brick, stone and glass, Poirot said. It will feature a healing garden in the center and a pond in back. The cancer center’s grand glass walls bring in the natural landscaping and a create sense of serenity for patients undergoing treatment. A stone “mending wall” runs from the front of the cancer center to the interior, creating the “heart” of the center, and ends in a beautiful outdoor area complete with a lake, outdoor seating and walking paths.  
    In addition to the aesthetics, the cancer treatment center has some unusual construction features, Poirot said. For example, the piece of equipment used to treat cancerous growths with radiation is called a linear accelerator. It is referred to as a LINAC, for short.
    “The LINAC treatment area is actually enclosed in a massive vault with 3 to 5 feet of concrete on all sides, including the ceiling,” Poirot said.  
    The building will also have a CT (computerized tomography) scan and an infusion bay for chemotherapy treatments, which overlooks the lake.
    In addition, the building has been designed to meet Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) certification through the U.S. Green Building Council, the first Southern Illinois medical building to achieve that certification.    
    Poirot, who has a degree in civil engineering from SIUE, said that, while the building will be substantially complete in November, it will probably take several months for SIH to move in all of the furniture, fixtures and equipment. McCarthy will assist with that process.