St. Mary’s Regional Hospital, Grand Junction | Clinical Decision Unit (CDU)
The Project
St. Mary’s Regional Hospital in Grand Junction, Colorado, needed to improve Emergency Department patient throughput without expanding the ED footprint. The hospital constructed a 16-bed Clinical Decision Unit (CDU) to manage lower acuity cases requiring observation.
Building the CDU in the hospital’s central core—surrounded on six sides by active operations—and updating outdated utilities presented a major challenge.
Project Challenges
Budget constraints: The initial budget was insufficient for the planned 24-bed unit and required a phased approach starting with 16 beds.
No design roadmap: As an emerging department type, the CDU offered no standardized specifications to follow.
Active construction zone: Workers and materials had to move through occupied hospital areas without disrupting patient care.
The Solution
Restructured the project into two phases to deliver Phase 1 within budget while maintaining clinical functionality.
Established communication protocols with weekly clinical team updates and regular C-suite reporting.
Managed end-to-end delivery, hiring consultants and contractors, coordinating design, securing state waivers, overseeing construction, and managing equipment procurement.
Standout Numbers
observational unit delivered in Phase 1
dedicated behavioral health beds included
years total project duration
strategic approach to manage budget constraints
inspection pass rate
