Cerner Corporation, a global healthcare technology company headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., extended timely accolades to the physician community this week in honor of National Doctors' Day.
National Doctors’ Day, proclaimed in 1991 by President George H.W. Bush, is celebrated each year on March 30th to honor the nation’s physicians for their dedication and leadership.
“On behalf of Cerner, I’d like to recognize and thank physicians and clinicians everywhere for their sacrifices and heroic efforts in safeguarding the health of their communities,” said Brent Shafer, chairman and CEO of Cerner.
“Physicians have always played an important role in society, but in these unprecedented times, we have witnessed our client physicians going above and beyond. We thank you for being on the frontlines of this pandemic and every day," Shafer said.
With pre-pandemic burnout rates among physicians and clinicians on the rise, Cerner has continuously worked to provide tools and technologies aimed at reducing physician burnout. Throughout the years, Cerner has cumulatively invested more than $7 billion into research and development, creating meaningful physician-focused innovations, like voice-assisted technology and improved AI-assisted clinical documentation.
Since the global onset of COVID-19, Cerner has taken numerous steps to protect and empower physicians by expanding telehealth capabilities with Cerner Patient Observer and AmWell, making it easier for clients to perform life-saving work.
“As a practicing physician, I want to express my admiration and heartfelt gratitude for those physicians fighting on the frontlines of this global pandemic,” said Lu de Souza, MD, vice president and chief medical officer, Cerner.
“We at Cerner are responsible for providing these physicians with the infrastructure and support needed to combat this outbreak. We are humbled by the opportunity to develop technology that proactively contributes to physician wellness,” de Souza said.
Cerner currently employs more than 100 physicians, and Cerner’s solutions have nearly 700,000 physician users. Cerner has worked alongside its client physicians for decades to design intuitive, physician-friendly solutions that enable collaboration across mobile and desktop platforms and enhance user efficiency, productivity and satisfaction.
For more information on the company’s commitment to providing a first-class physician experience, visit Cerner’s Physician Solutions page. For more on Cerner’s response to COVID-19, visit Cerner’s COVID-19 Update or Commitment & Support to Clients.
JE Dunn Construction has been selected by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to manage the $24 million design-build Mountain Home Air Force Base clinic modernization project in Idaho as well as the $21.7 million design-build Eglin Air Force Base pharmacy in Florida.
The Mountain Home Air Force Base clinic modernization will support the 366th Medical Group and entail renovating 41,165 SF of multiple departments.
Construction at Mountain Home AFB will begin in 2020 and will be complete in July 2021.
JE Dunn and Hoefer Wysocki have partnered to design and construct the Eglin Air Force Base pharmacy renovations for the 96th Medical Group. This is the 21st project award within the U.S. Air Force Healthcare Facilities Modernization Program.
“We are thrilled to continue building our federal healthcare portfolio alongside a trusted partner, Hoefer Wysocki,” said JE Dunn group manager, Craig Stearns.
The first phase of renovations includes the outpatient and inpatient pharmacies in the hospital. The satellite pharmacy addition and renovation, which will be designed around an Rx auto-fill robotic system, are included in the second phase of renovations.
The scope includes other MEP work, architectural improvements, and improving the existing classrooms and administrative offices.
This will be the second project JE Dunn has worked on at Eglin. The firm completed the hospital realignment in 2016.
JE Dunn has designed and constructed over $800 million in healthcare facilities at more than 13 military bases across the nation to support the U.S. Air Force Healthcare Facilities Modernization Program over the past 10 years.
Other local partners on the AFB projects include BHC Rhodes, Branch Pattern and Henderson Engineers.
Construction is underway for the Fort Leonard Wood Hospital replacement project in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. The project is being administered through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Kansas City District for the Defense Health Agency.
Fort Leonard Wood, located in the Missouri Ozarks, is home to the 102nd Training Division (Maneuver Support) and Missouri’s 35th Engineer Brigade. The hospital services 34,000 beneficiaries within a 40-mile radius of the city.
“We are honored to be a part of this project and continue our long-term relationship with the Defense Health Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,” said Craig Stearns, Federal Group Leader for JE Dunn Construction.
“The military is committed to providing those that serve with world-class healthcare services and facilities, and we are thrilled to help them execute their mission,” Stearns added.
The new campus will feature a 235,376 SF hospital, 193,332 SF medical clinic, a 20,459 SF central utility plant, a five-bay ambulance garage and supporting facilities.
JE Dunn Construction and RLF (Orlando, FL), partnered to provide a design-build proposal to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a world-class healthcare facility that rivals those found in the civilian sector, pays homage to the rich history of Fort Leonard Wood and takes advantage of the site’s rolling terrain.
“Our team worked for two years to assemble our team and produce the best design and price for the federal government. JE Dunn studied this project for eight years and was very thoughtful in the way we assembled our professional design team and trade partners,” said Margaret Bowker, senior vice president of JE Dunn.
JE Dunn has built over $3 billion in federal construction in the past 10 years and has become a national player in the federal medical facility market. In addition to the $305 million Fort Leonard Wood Hospital project, JE Dunn has worked on over twenty military medical facilities across the country in a design-build format.
Similar JE Dunn projects include the construction of the $250M University of Kansas Cambridge Hospital; the $103M VA Health Care Center in Charlotte, North Carolina; the $235M Woman’s Replacement Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; the $195M Dell Seton Hospital in Texas; and over $380M for the Saint Luke’s Wornall Campus in Kansas City.
Other large-scale federal work includes the $550 million National Nuclear Security Administration Campus in Kansas City; the $240 million IRS Campus in Kansas City; and the $107M NREL Energy Systems Integration Facility in Golden, Colorado.
The design and construction team includes JE Dunn Construction, RLF, Olsson Engineering, Land3 Studio, MMC Contractors, Guarantee Electrical, and BloomsdaleExcavating, as well as twenty other sub-consultants and trade partners.
The design and construction of the hospital campus is expected to be complete in 48 months. Once complete, the existing 450,000 SF hospital will be demolished.
The national general contractor formerly known as United Excel Corporation has relaunched as StructSure Projects. The firm founded in 1994 will build on its strength in the healthcare market and grow its presence in office and other diverse spaces.
“Healthcare is our main lane, but there is a desire to diversify and pursue other markets such as higher education, Class A office, and laboratory and pharmaceutical space,” said StructSure President Dennis Burns, who is leading the local market launch. “Healthcare is our bread and butter and what we are known for, but we still are going to look to expand into other sectors.”
“Our team is ready to put its expertise and drive for excellence to work in their own backyard,” Owner Kevin Rogers added. “StructSure Projects is motivated to perform at the highest level by offering certainty in quality of work and schedule.”
The company will retain all the history, experience and talent in its project management team. Recent projects include a new Hybrid OR at Shawnee Mission Medical Center, now AdventHealth, and the firm is currently working on projects for Lawrence Memorial Hospital, Children’s Mercy Hospital, and Menorah Medical Center.
"We have new energy and a new vision and it was the right time to rebrand and differentiate ourselves from the competition," Burns said. “We are still the same firm, just with a new look and feel."
