As part of the ambitious $1.8 billion “Jackson Miracle-Building Bond Program,” Jackson Health System expanded its flagship campus with a new Critical Care Pavilion at Jackson Memorial Hospital. The expansion added an 80,500-square-foot, three-story tower atop the existing Ira C. Clark Diagnostic Treatment Center (DTC) ICU, requiring advanced engineering solutions to support the additional vertical load while maintaining hospital operations.

Project Highlights:

KLINE was brought in to provide specialized structural strengthening services for the tower addition. Our team designed a custom carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) strengthening system to accommodate a new stair opening in the existing 11-inch reinforced concrete slab at Level 4 of the DTC roof. The intervention addressed a 75 ft-k increase in moment demand due to the modification, ensuring structural integrity under new load conditions.

Leveraging our expertise in fiber-reinforced polymer systems, we developed a strengthening approach that was not only effective and durable but also minimally invasive, preserving both the functionality and aesthetics of the existing facility. CFRP was an ideal solution due to its high strength-to-weight ratio, making it well-suited for sensitive healthcare environments where traditional methods would have been more disruptive.

The expansion required careful coordination with all project stakeholders to minimize disruption to ongoing hospital operations. In addition to structural reinforcement, the project included modifications to the service elevator shaft to accommodate modern medical equipment and patient care needs, demonstrating a holistic approach to future-ready healthcare design.

Photography and Renderings: ©SBR