The Cardiac Life Support Services Redevelopment, an expansion and renovation project at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute (UOHI), will help Canada’s largest cardiovascular center continue to meet the demands of a growing and changing patient population.

At the heart of this project is a new five-story building that houses the hospital’s Cardiac Life Support Services. The new facility includes clinical and outpatient services, eight laboratories, five operation rooms, a 27-bed intensive care unit, staff spaces and a top-floor mechanical room. The new space increases the hospital’s treatment capacity and incorporates advanced medical technology to help patients with the most complex medical issues. 

The second part of this redevelopment project included interior renovations to the existing Heart Institute Life Support level to improve visitor flow in the main lobby, expand diagnostic imaging, reconfigure the ambulance entrance and add a new loading dock.

It was critical for the hospital to continue to deliver the best patient care as construction continued. Our team followed stringent infection control guidelines and developed plans that allowed work to proceed without disrupting hospital operations. Before we began building, we placed construction areas under negative pressure to reduce risk of infection to potentially immune-compromised patients. 

When construction on the new building was well underway, UOHI asked us to add a 25,000-square-foot floor to the top of the center. With an eye on the future of patient care, the space will enable UOHI to expand their clinical areas when needed – and we finished the add-on without extending the overall schedule.