Kitchell executive elected vice president of healthcare engineering association

The Central Arizona Society for Healthcare Engineering (CASHE) has elected Steve Whitworth, project director for Kitchell’s Healthcare Division, to the board as vice president. CASHE is a non-profit organization with a mission to develop knowledge and expertise in hospital engineering and related disciplines.

“It is a great honor to be elected to the CASHE board, to foster collaboration between our healthcare industry clients and peers. We all benefit from more advanced healthcare facilities in our community, both personally and professionally, and it’s rewarding to be able to make an impact on something so important,” Whitworth said.  

Previously Whitworth served as head of the Education Committee where he developed the education curriculum for 2009 and arranged for speakers at each monthly session. 

CASHE members come from a wide range of disciplines including facilities maintenance and operations; plant engineering; clinical and biomedical engineering; technology management; planning, design and construction; safety; and security management. Whitworth joins the CASHE board with newly elected president Nick Dalba, secretary Bill Sheeley, treasurer Chris Jacobson as well as three new members-at-large and several committee chairs. 

Other Kitchell CASHE members include Ryan Hook, Dave Lane, Dick Crowley (who is a former chair of the sponsorship committee), and Michael Wolfe.

J. Reese/Kitchell Joint Venture breaks ground on new cancer center at Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center

NTD Architects, J. Reese Construction, Kitchell part of Makena team

Sharp HealthCare officials, Makena Medical Buildings LLC and the J. Reese/Kitchell joint venture recently celebrated the groundbreaking of a cancer center and medical office building at Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center.

The proposed center, developed and managed by Makena Medical Buildings LLC, was designed by NTD Architects and will be constructed by a joint venture of J. Reese Construction and Kitchell. The facility will measure 45,000 square feet over three stories. The first level will feature the Cancer Center. Features of the 15,220-square-foot center will include patient lobby and waiting areas, exam rooms, a resource center, doctor offices, conference rooms, nurse stations, CT scan rooms, radiation therapy chambers, and indoor and outdoor healing gardens.  The design features extensive use of natural lighting, rock gardens and interior atriums to provide a comfortable spa-like ambiance in waiting, exam and treatment areas. A dual entrance design is featured to provide privacy for cancer patients receiving treatments.

A 2,000-square-foot Infusion Center may be included on the second floor as part of the Cancer Center. The Infusion Center as designed can care for as many as 10 patients with the option of lounge or private room environments. A roof garden will be constructed on a second-story deck.

The second and third floors will feature more than 10,000 square feet each of medical office space available for leasing. Each space will be built to suit for each tenant. The proposed medical office building features a unique and separate entrance from the Cancer Center.

The new building will be constructed adjacent to the existing Sharp Chula Vista Outpatient Surgery and Imaging Center. The construction team has developed plans to mitigate disruption to utilities, traffic and pedestrian flow for the functioning center, which will remain open throughout construction.