A Conversation With ... Bob Norton

My job is heavily involved with the master-planning process, and I also have the maintenance department, which repairs and maintains the facilities. We have about 4.6 million square feet of facilities that we take care of (in) 193 buildings or properties. The majority of the square footage is on our (Springfield) campus. It’s about 2.6 million square feet on a 72-acre campus. The remaining facilities (are) anywhere from Berryville, Ark., to Rolla, and for the west region, out to West Plains, and then over to Cassville and Aurora.

The $101 million patient tower is St. John’s most visible project. What’s been most challenging in terms of getting it done?

We’ll start to occupy the patient tower by November, and we’ll complete the occupancy by ... March. It’s the single-largest project, with gross square footage of 360,000 square feet. The constraints are going to be working in an occupied building or adjacent to an occupied building. Patient care is the most important priority that we have, so from an infection control standpoint (and) parking issues, and access and wayfinding for our visitors, all of that becomes part of the project management.

How does St. John’s determine when it’s time to expand or build new facilities?

We’re constantly projecting into the future what our needs are going to be, what new technologies there are for patient care, what the Census is going to be. From that, we put a strategic plan together. All of this falls under the umbrella of our mission statement. We have our mission, we have strategic initiatives and we have a project selection methodology for highest and best needs for the community and for the services the community demands. From that, we put together … the master-planning process, and we identify the scope of each of those projects (and) look at the funding required, and then we have to allocate funding … . We have major projects (in Springfield), but we also have regional needs. We’re building a clinic in Willow Springs right now – a 4,000-square-foot, two-doctor clinic.

Is it a goal of St. John’s to use as much local labor as possible?

Absolutely. Sometimes, the scope of our project exceeds the capacity of a particular contractor or construction manager, and we will then look at a way to joint-venture construction companies to use local talents and to shore up the scope. We’re doing that on (the patient tower). It’s a joint venture between (Springfield-based) DeWitt & Associates and JE Dunn Construction Co. out of Kansas City.

Besides the patient tower, what other changes are coming in Springfield?

We have the Whiteside Medical office building expansion … that will house the cardiology group. We’re in the process of planning the women and children’s service lines renewal within the existing hospital and portions of the patient tower. In October, we’ll open our new burn unit in the hospital. The heart hospital … will be, probably in the 2009–2010 timeframe. We have about 40 routine capital projects on our docket, anything from a small suite renovation to a large floor renewal (in all regions).

How long have you served in your current role?

I’ve been in this position at St. John’s since about 2001. I worked at St. John’s from 1979 to 1988, then I got a (bachelor’s) degree in industrial technology and left for about 10 years. When I had an opportunity to come back, I jumped at that opportunity, and came back to St. John’s in 2000. An interesting point – I’m one of five siblings, and everyone but my father has worked at St. John’s – my mother, brother and three sisters.

Tell us about your family.

My wife, Jill, is a registered nurse and nurse practitioner. I met her at St. John’s in the 1980s. I have a son named Dylan, and two grandchildren from him. He’s a farmer with more than 4,500 acres in Mississippi. I have another son, Robert, who is 11, and is an avid soccer and guitar player. I have a daughter, Bailey, who is 13, and she’s an excellent violin player and loves making movies.

What do you enjoy outside of work?

I enjoy music. Everyone in my family plays an instrument. I play the guitar and mandolin. My wife plays the harp, and has … Harps for the Heart, (through which) she plays for hospice patients and at the bedside.

We enjoy horses, fishing and skiing. We have a lot of outdoor activities (that are) some of our most fun hobbies. We recently got into horses. My daughter rides barrel-racing and does some team pinning, and we do that as a family.

Interview by Features Editor Maria Hoover. You can e-mail her with suggestions for future installments of this feature at mhoover@sbj.net.