Recession forces St. Francis to delay Indianapolis project

Citing the turbulent economy and its reeling effects on south-central Indiana, St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers has announced postponement of construction at the inpatient bed tower at its Indianapolis campus.

St. Francis officials announced that action March 11, emphasizing that construction will resume as the economy improves.

“Traditionally, hospitals have avoided such economic slumps, but that paradigm no longer exists,” said Robert J. Brody, St. Francis president and chief executive officer. “St. Francis is fortunate that it has a strong financial foundation because of its conservative planning and strong stewardship of its resources. This decision helps to reinforce our sound footing.”

The decision to postpone further construction will help shield the hospital system from the most negative effects of the recession and continue to provide health care to the patients St. Francis serves at not only Indianapolis, but also its campuses in Beech Grove and Mooresville.

At present, the concrete pouring at each of the floors of the inpatient bed tower is nearly complete and work to enclose the exterior is expected to be finished by mid-summer. At that time, the remaining construction will be put on hold. The overall project is about 40 percent complete.

The slowdown of construction and other capital projects is reverberating nationally with hospital systems. The American Hospital Association reported in January that nearly half of hospitals nationwide have put capital projects on hold, and many have stopped projects already in process. A January report from the Healthcare Financial Management Association places the number of postponements or cancellations at an even higher estimate of 78 percent.

Chat addresses your questions about Indianapolis construction, Beech Grove campus

Welcome to the first St. Francis online chat with Chief Operating Officer Keith Jewell. Keith will answer your questions about the Indianapolis construction project and the possible future uses of St. Francis Hospital-Beech Grove after medical services are consolidated at the Indianapolis campus in early 2011. The chat will continue until 1 p.m.

As a reminder, this chat session is a real conversation. For this reason, you should observe the same etiquette in the chat session as you would in day-to-day conversation.If you are new to using this site, to post a comment or question, please click on the link that says “Comments.”

Due to the anticipated number of questions and comments posted, there may be a small delay between the time your question is submitted and the time it is viewable on the blog.

Guidelines for posting comments

• Please keep comments and questions civil. We will not accept insulting groups or individuals.


• Reporters who visit the site and want to pose questions are asked to identify themselves and their news organizations.


• St. Francis cannot comment on official business on the part of the cities of Indianapolis, Beech Grove or Greenwood, nor on the Beech Grove Redevelopment Commission. We have extended an invitation to Beech Grove Mayor Joe Wright, who is out of town but at this time is planning to be available on the blog to answer questions relating to the city’s role in the Beech Grove campus redevelopment.


• If you have comments or concerns regarding your patient experience at St. Francis, please complete this form to reach our Service Excellence department.

St. Francis COO answers questions about construction

Whether watching from a downtown Indy skyscraper or seeing the crane as you drive along I-65, you’ve likely seen the construction at the St. Francis Hospital—Indianapolis campus. And, you may want to know more about what this means for your health care, particularly at this uncertain time in the economy.

That’s why we’re opening up this blog to your questions. St. Francis’ Chief Operating Officer Keith Jewell will be on hand from noon to 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 3, to answer your questions about the construction project and what it means for medical services on the Indianapolis south side. Please take advantage of this opportunity to join in the conversation.

This chat session is very much a real conversation. For this reason we ask that you observe the same etiquette when participating in the chat session as you would in day-to-day conversation.

Those who would like to post comments should observe some simple conversational guidelines below. St. Francis reserves the right to delete comments we think may be offensive to the audience at large.

If you are unable to participate in the chat session, you can e-mail your questions to the St. Francis Community Relations team by 10 a.m. on Feb 3, and we will address many of your questions during our session.

Thank you, and we look forward to hearing from you!

Guidelines for posting comments

• Please keep comments and questions civil. We will not accept insulting groups or individuals.
• We cannot comment on official business on the part of the cities of Indianapolis, Beech Grove or Greenwood, nor on the Beech Grove Redevelopment Commission.
• If you have comments or concerns regarding your patient experience at St. Francis, please complete this form to reach our Service Excellence department.

Construction doesn’t freeze in winter weather

While Indianapolis braces for bitter wind chills and several inches of snow, construction continues to heat up on the St. Francis Hospital–Indianapolis patient bed tower, where steel soon will be erected on the fourth and fifth floors.

Crews are taking added steps to protect the safety of their teams and the materials during these frigid temperatures, said Brian Phillips, construction manager with Tonn & Blank Construction, who is managing the construction project.

Just like anyone who goes outside, construction crew members take care to dress in layers and protect their skin during hazardous weather. “It’s no different than going skiing,” Phillips said.

What is different is their work day. More than an hour of any work day may be spent simply getting supplies prepped and safely ready to work with. But snow, ice and cold temperatures can get in the way.

“There’s quite a bit of time warming up equipment, de-icing and shoveling snow,” Phillips said.

Other steps must be taken to ensure that construction materials such as fireproofing and concrete do not freeze in below-freezing temperatures. Freeze-guard additives, heaters and construction drapes all help keep products in good working condition.

“Some of the areas actually get pretty warm,” Phillips said. “You’ll see some workers strip off their coats and work in T-shirts, even in this weather.”

Watch the latest on the Indianapolis campus construction

Construction is under way on the new six-story patient bed tower and expanded Emergency Department at St. Francis Hospital-Indianapolis. Learn the latest about the project and what you'll be able to see in winter 2009.