Cook Children’s Medical Center- South Tower

The South Tower at Cook Children’s Medical Center adds 287,360 square feet for pediatric care, including a new emergency department and operating rooms. Cummings Electrical constructed a 16,560-square-foot utility plant with high-voltage systems, linked by an underground tunnel. The project was carefully coordinated to maintain hospital operations, delivering a reliable electrical system that supports enhanced pediatric care.

Scope of Work

The new South Tower at Cook Children’s Medical Center marked a 287,360-square-foot expansion focused on increasing critical pediatric care capacity. The project included a new emergency department, 12 advanced operating rooms, a dedicated heart center, and a mechanical penthouse, with the upper two floors shelled for future expansion. Alongside the tower, Cummings Electrical completed a new 16,560-square-foot, two-story utility plant equipped with parallel 15kV service, three 15kV generators, two 5kV chillers, and five 4000A substations, all connected to the tower via an underground tunnel. 

Challenges & Solutions

Executing major electrical work on an active pediatric campus required careful coordination and safety-first planning. Cummings performed phased renovations on three floors of the existing hospital while simultaneously managing new construction. The complexity of installing large-scale high-voltage systems, including 15kV distribution, was addressed through prefabrication and close coordination with mechanical and civil teams. The underground tunnel work linking the CUP to the new tower demanded precise scheduling and detailed logistics to avoid disruption to hospital operations.