Five years ago, Nathan Faloon and his family sought relief from the harsh winters of New England. Hailing from Dover-Foxcroft, Maine, Faloon accepted a job in Miami in 2015, where he worked as a project superintendent.
There he heard about Haskell. Faloon was drawn to learn more about the design-build firm because of how passionately a Haskell employee had spoken about it.
“The passion he had for [Haskell] was amazing. That’s something that’s kind of rare,” Faloon said.
Also rare is Faloon’s specialized experience in healthcare construction. His resume boasts more than $85 million in combined healthcare projects.
In 2018, Faloon brought his specialization to the Haskell team as a project superintendent. His experience working on more than 20 active hospital campuses made him well-suited to manage the development of his first Haskell project: the Mease Countryside Hospital’s $100 million expansion and renovation.
An active campus is one that provides healthcare treatment during construction. At Mease, it is Faloon’s job to maintain a clean environment with strict attention to infection control so as to not affect or compromise patients and hospital operations.
Mease’s six-phase development, slated for 2021 completion, includes a four-story, 950-space parking garage with a pedestrian bridge. A new pavilion bed tower is also being constructed that will increase the number of private hospital rooms from 31 percent to 82 percent. The tower features 70 private patient rooms, a 35-room critical-care unit and a 30-bed patient observation unit.
The development also involves relocating chemotherapy and infusion services and building a new endoscopy suite.
The full scope of renovations is still being determined.
Overcoming Logistical Challenges
With the assistance of his project team, Faloon oversees a workforce of over 200 contractor partners and is responsible for the daily field operations.
Haskell has a reputation for delivering projects on-time and on-budget. To uphold this standard, Faloon must navigate complex logistical challenges while staying within the project’s scope. Early in development, it was recognized that the initial plan’s temporary hospital entrance was too disruptive to patients and staff and wasn’t cost-effective.
To develop a more feasible alternative, Faloon met with hospital administrators.
“[Faloon] was instrumental in helping develop the plan. His strength is logistical planning and phased-approach construction,” said Lane Sutton, Haskell’s senior project manager at Mease Countryside.
The new plan required moving two permanent entrances to create one temporary access that separated entry for patients and the general public.
“The relocation of the main entrance was very difficult,” Faloon said. “We had many meetings with different ideas of how we could accomplish this task. At the end of the day, it went extremely well and minimized the impact to the owner.”
Continuous Improvement
Growing up in a family of carpenters and ironworkers, Faloon likes the constant challenges that come with building complex healthcare projects.
Sutton credits Faloon’s measured approach and attention to detail as instrumental to his success with the project and company.
Faloon agrees he is “quick to figure out issues.”
To help himself stay sharp, Faloon takes advantage of Haskell’s continuing education and training opportunities.
“There’s always a need for continuing education,” said Faloon, who cites Haskell’s commitment to in-house training as a competitive differentiator. “As the projects get more difficult and the technology gets better, I want to be able to stay on the cutting edge of hospital construction.”
Looking ahead, Faloon hopes to continue turning over high-quality projects to satisfied customers. He also wants to uphold Haskell’s culture of teamwork, which inspired him to refer his friend to join the company as a general foreman.
Having a team like he has on-site is a source of pride. “No matter what issue we are dealing with, we all work together,” he said.
