Lant Fogarty ’10 works for Clark Construction in Chicago, Illinois. From March 30 to April 24, Clark and its trade partners worked on a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project to convert the MetroSouth Medical Center on Chicago's South Side into an Alternative Care Facility for COVID-19 patients. As the project manager for Clark’s architecture squad, Fogarty oversaw the carpenters, painters, and floor installers for the project. “We had daily meetings with our subcontractors, internal team, and the overall team, which included our design partners and the Corps of Engineers, to resolve issues, define scope, and drive the work,” says Fogarty. “As the overall project manager to our senior project manager and project executive, I provided project updates, helped to implement and steer the team toward their vision, drove the quality and punch list process, and handled some miscellaneous duties such as contracts, security, and medical screenings to ensure that everyone on site did not show symptoms of COVID-19.”
In just 22 days, four days ahead of schedule, Fogarty and Clark Construction delivered a 585-patient bed facility, with 265 beds providing ICU level service to support critically ill patients. “It was a fast-paced and an extremely tiring project, but it has been the most rewarding thing I have done outside of my Army service,” says Fogarty, who deployed to Afghanistan as a Field Artillery officer with the 2nd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division during Operation Enduring Freedom. The construction of the MetroSouth Alternative Care Site was one three facilities supervised by Colonel Aaron Reisinger ’94, Commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Chicago District.