Precision Structural Restoration at OhioHealth Marion General Hospital

Executing structural repairs on an operating hospital presents an extreme test of precision, safety, and logistical coordination. When concrete cantilevered slabs on the facade of OhioHealth’s Marion General Hospital began severely deteriorating, Miles-McClellan was called in to remove the potential safety hazard and restore the area’s quality and visual appeal. Extending four feet from the building across four floors, the damaged slabs created a serious risk of falling debris.

Removing the damaged concrete required working in a very delicate, limited space, with the work area directly above an active cafeteria and immediately next to critical care areas, including Labor & Delivery, surgery suites and maternity units, where quiet and patient privacy were non-negotiable.

These conditions ruled out traditional demolition methods. Techniques like hydrodemolition and heavy jackhammering would have created excessive noise, dust, and vibration, potentially disrupting surgeries, disturbing laboring mothers, and affecting patient care. The project also presented complicated staging logistics. Complex scaffolding over the cafeteria required specialized structural support, while high-traffic parking lanes, patient entrances and emergency routes all needed to remain open and completely clear.

To overcome these compounding obstacles, Miles-McClellan’s Structural Restoration Division had to engineer an innovative, non-disruptive approach tailored to a live healthcare setting.

Ingenuity in Action: Turning Challenges into Engineering Solutions

Stepping beyond traditional trade boundaries, Miles-McClellan took on an expanded General Contractor role under the leadership of the division’s most experienced manager, Terry Nye. The team assumed full responsibility for structural shoring design, site safety, specialized subcontractor oversight and complex daily logistics, finding creative workarounds at every phase to keep the work moving safely and smoothly.

To meet the hospital’s strict noise constraints, Miles-McClellan partnered with Donley Concrete Cutting to design a precise concrete-removal process. Rather than relying on standard hammering or heavy demolition methods that would send shockwaves through the building, the crew systematically precision-sliced the cantilevered slabs into individual one-foot-square blocks. The approach proved so quiet that hospital facility managers compared the sound to “no more than a leaf blower,” allowing critical surgeries and patient care in nearby areas to continue without interruption.

Managing the weight of the deteriorating facade required another creative solution. Collaborating with American Scaffolding, Miles-McClellan engineered a custom shoring and scaffolding network designed to safely span the cafeteria roof directly below the work zone. Bright yellow shoring posts were installed inside the dining space as an extra precaution to reinforce the structure, while custom hoist systems allowed workers to safely lower and cart away more than 1,000 cut concrete blocks totaling 280 linear feet.

Throughout the project, protecting the hospital environment and patient experience remained a top priority. The team fully wrapped the multi-story exterior scaffolding in reinforced plastic sheeting, a solution that not only helped contain dust and debris but also allowed light while providing privacy for patient windows in the maternity and recovery rooms. Once the heavy blocks were cleared, Miles-McClellan completed the transformation by patching exposed rebar pockets, applying protective weatherizing coatings, and power-washing the brick facade, restoring both the building’s strength and appearance.

Operational Excellence and Business Impact

The project’s biggest success was its seamless, non-disruptive execution within a live healthcare environment. By continuously adapting and improving its methodology and coordinating closely across crews, Miles-McClellan dramatically improved production efficiency during the project. The team increased its daily output and removal rate as the team moved down the building envelope.

In total, the crew safely removed and remediated 280 linear feet of hazardous concrete cantilever slabs spanning four floors, hoisting over 1,000 precision-cut blocks down to ground level without a single safety incident. Most importantly, this high-risk restoration was completed with zero operational interruptions to the facility. Marion General Hospital maintained full functionality throughout the project, resulting in zero room closures, zero delayed surgeries and zero disrupted births.

Miles-McClellan’s execution under high-stakes conditions transformed a challenging structural hazard into a masterclass in healthcare construction management. By demonstrating self-performing restoration expertise coupled with turnkey general contracting capabilities, the team built profound confidence with OhioHealth facility leadership, positioning them to continue expanding their partnership on future campus projects.