This week, a celebration with elected officials, community members, and representatives from UMass Memorial Health marked the start of construction for UMass Memorial’s Satellite Emergency Facility (SEF) in Groton, MA, as part of their ongoing efforts to expand access to affordable, high-quality healthcare across Central Massachusetts. VHB led the site design and permitting process for the project and secured permits quickly, allowing construction to begin within six months of the project’s inception.
The new SEF will provide the same caliber of adult and pediatric services available at a traditional emergency department, including an on-site helipad for emergency transport by helicopter, beds for emergency care and observation, and certain imaging services. The UMass Memorial team chose the facility’s location in Groton after carefully considering the region’s most critical concerns, factoring in the availability of healthcare services and EMS transport times.
VHB partnered with UMass Memorial Health and the Town of Groton to advance the project, delivering site and civil engineering, permitting, traffic engineering, landscape architecture, and site design services. Our team expedited the permitting process to move the project forward, which included securing state environmental review under the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA).
“Watching VHB manage and design the project through state and local permitting with the Town of Groton was nothing short of spectacular,” said Groton Town Manager Mark Haddad. “Their management allowed the project to be permitted by the Town of Groton and the state in record time. This project would not be where it is today without VHB!”
“VHB has proven to be a true partner by leading UMass Memorial Health through the Groton town and state regulatory process in expeditious fashion,” said UMass Memorial Health Project Manager Chris Anderson.
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey and other state officials attended the groundbreaking ceremony and spoke about the project as a significant step towards strengthening the availability of accessible healthcare in Central Massachusetts.
Learn how VHB collaborates with clients to deliver complex healthcare facilities—from the earliest stages of master planning through design, permitting, and construction.
