Warfel Construction Co.

Scope Of Work

The Lancaster Behavioral Health Hospital is a partnership between Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health and Universal Health Services, Inc. (UHS). Strategically built to serve the mental health needs of the community, LBHH is the only freestanding psychiatric hospital in Lancaster County. The 126-bed facility utilizes the latest equipment and industry-recognized procedures to provide a caring environment for each patient, while also ensuring the safety of patients and care providers. Each unit dayroom features access to a courtyard with outdoor therapeutic space.

Built on the site of a former Armstrong railroad yard, the Lancaster Behavioral Health Hospital project required extensive testing and ground scanning prior to construction. The site, measuring more than 600 feet in length and comprising of more than 9 acres, required some remediation to assure that soil was suitable for construction.

The 75,000 square foot building required extensive coordination between the ownership entities (Penn Medicine/Lancaster General Health and UHS), the City of Lancaster, Penndot, and Franklin & Marshall College. Additionally, the Lancaster Historical Commission contributed to the design of the building to assure that the exterior met requirements of the Heritage Conservation District. The approved design features the appearance of two stories, hiding the rooftop HVAC units which service the building from being viewed from the street.

As Warfel’s first foray into the world of Lean construction, the Lancaster Behavioral Health Hospital project challenged our team to look at a new method of construction. Due to the substantial planning and communication necessary to complete a Lean project, our team collaborated extensively with the trade partners working on the project, holding numerous big room meetings and pull planning a detailed project schedule. Throughout the process, our trade partners and our project management team became more familiar with the challenges each group faced, leading to a more efficient and coordinated group effort.

The Lancaster Behavioral Health Hospital was successfully completed in June 2018, one month before the owner’s first patient day in July.