Michael Baker International Contracted to Design New Veterans Affairs Clinic in Lake Charles, Louisiana

$9.5-Million Project Allows Company to Help U.S. Military Veterans Obtain Necessary Medical Services

Lake Charles, La. (June 29, 2016) - Michael Baker International, a global leader in engineering, planning and consulting services, continues its longstanding commitment to support United States military veterans returning home after completing their service. The company completed the design of a $9.5-million contract for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide interior and exterior design services for a new LEED Silver Certified Veterans Affairs clinic in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
 
The Michael Baker team developed an extensive design plan for the nearly 32,000 square-foot VA clinic. The new Lake Charles outpatient facility, offering such services as internal medicine, psychiatry and physical therapy, will rely on Michael Baker’s design services for the internal look, fire protection, plumbing and electrical schematics, as well as general external planning, excluding landscaping and general civil services. With the project’s rapid timeline for completion – construction is scheduled for completion in the spring of 2017 and the facility will open for patient care in the summer of 2017 – Michael Baker has dedicated significant time and resources to the clinic’s design.
 
“The new VA clinic in Lake Charles poses exciting challenges for Michael Baker. The short design and construction timeline coupled with the shifting scope of work has provided our team the opportunity to flex our creative muscles and create a dynamic space,” said Bruce Preston, associate vice president/operations manager for architecture and building engineering at Michael Baker International, and the project manager for the VA clinic. “Ultimately, the design Michael Baker delivered is a marked improvement over the existing facility and demonstrates that ‘We Make a Difference’ in enabling area veterans to receive the superior care they deserve.”
 
Initially planned as a retrofit of an existing metal-framed structure, new VA outpatient facility guidelines based on the Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) model necessitated a different building footprint, requiring a major overhaul of the design. The shift in project scope afforded Michael Baker designers the opportunity to design a highly-functional and aesthetically-pleasing clinic where doctors can provide patients with the necessary outpatient care in a more flexible environment.  
 
The Lake Charles VA clinic marks Michael Baker’s first contract with the VA as part of the department’s “Lease Back Program.” A key component of the program is private companies contracting to build a facility that the VA rents for a twenty-year term with the intent to purchase following that period.
 
To complete the VA clinic, Michael Baker is working with SDA, Inc., a Colorado-based developer building their fifth VA facility; The Korte Company that serves as the general contractor; C.H. Fenstermaker that is providing civil engineering support; and Land Architecture that is designing the landscape architecture.
 
To commemorate the start of the project’s construction phase, Michael Baker stakeholders joined other key project constituents during a groundbreaking ceremony on June 29, 2016.
 
About Michael Baker International

Michael Baker International is a leading global provider of engineering and consulting services, which include planning, architectural, environmental, construction, program management, and full life-cycle support services as well as information technology and communications services and solutions. The company provides its comprehensive range of services and solutions in support of U.S. federal, state, and municipal governments, foreign allied governments, and a wide range of commercial clients.  Michael Baker International has more than 6,000 employees in more than 90 locations across the U.S. and internationally. To learn more, visit www.mbakerintl.com.