AHL lands contract for American Samoa hospital

Honolulu-based architectural firm AHL said Tuesday it has been selected by the Lyndon B. Johnson Tropical Medical Center to provide design, planning, interior design and project management for a $200 million, 40-bed hospital in Tafuna, American Samoa.

The estimated completion date is 2026.

Services will include the design of the new hospital with surgery beds, an intensive care unit, orthopedics, special services clinics, an emergency room, endoscopy, pharmacy, laboratory, morgue, cardiology/radiology, oncology, respiratory therapy, food and nutrition, admitting, and public spaces. Future plans include a 150-bed expansion.

“AHL has had a presence in this region for many decades and is delighted to continue serving our Pacific community,” AHL President and CEO Bettina Mehnert said in a statement. “We are pleased to bring partners Jacobs and WSP to this project and adding their global design experience to our healthcare and regional expertise.”

AHL recently created the master plan for The Queen’s Health Systems’ four campuses in Hawaii and is managing partner of a joint venture designing facilities to accommodate the relocation of U.S. Marines from Okinawa to Guam.

The existing LBJ Tropical Medical Center in Fagaalu is the only hospital in American Samoa and ranked among the best hospitals in the Pacific. The 150-bed facility includes an emergency room with doctors on call at all hours; tuberculosis, leprosy and obstetric units; as well as maternal child health and crippled-children serv­ice and renal dialysis equipment. The medical center is undergoing expansion and renovation.