Children’s Clinical Centers of Excellence
Location Africa
Client Baylor College of Medicine
Size Approx. 15,000 SF
Date of Completion 2001 - 2011
Services #Architecture #Construction Services #Consulting #Structural Engineering
Sectors #Healthcare Facilities #Institutional
GMB has been involved in the design and construction of a series of Children’s Clinical Centers of Excellence in countries throughout Africa. This work began in 1998 under the direction of GMB Sr. Vice President, Reggie Mariner, Jr., P.E., who made frequent trips to Africa to oversee this effort.
Working with Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, GMB has provided design and/or project management services for nine Children’s Clinical Centers of Excellence in Africa. These centers treat more than 90,000 children in 8 countries. The centers are focused on caring for children with HIV/AIDS as well as providing education for nurses and physicians. Children are not only provided antiretroviral medicine and other medical treatment but are supported by a comprehensive program to address both the children’s and their families’ other daily needs.
The typical Children’s Clinical Centers of Excellence is a two-story 15,000 square foot building designed to create a warm and caring environment to help remove the stigma of HIV for juvenile patients. Each center provides state-of-the-art facilities for testing, treating, and monitoring patients in addition to training healthcare professionals. The facilities typically include a large outpatient client area, procedure rooms, a pharmacy, a laboratory, a medical library, and various offices. GMB provided the initial architectural design and overall project management of the prototype center in Botswana, which was completed in 2001. For the subsequent centers, GMB provided the overall project management for the facilities, including teaming with local consultants in each country to produce tailored construction documents.
GMB coordinated construction with the local consultants, contractors, and permitting bodies through the entire construction process. As an additional service, GMB procured all the furniture, medical equipment, and computers for all the clinics. Our procurement services allow the centers to be turn-key. When Baylor began operations, the centers were completely ready.
The centers are a major influence on HIV/AIDS education and research, impacting children throughout Africa.
Center Completion Dates:
- Tanzania: 2011 (2 clinics)
- Uganda: 2009
- Malawi: 2006
- Swaziland: 2005
- Lesotho: 2005
- Botswana: 2003
- Romania: 2001 (in Europe)
- Kenya: Design Only
- Burkina Faso: Design Only
