Medical Construction & Design

JUL-AUG 2015

Medical Construction & Design (MCD) is the industry's leading source for news and information and reaches all disciplines involved in the healthcare construction and design process.

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42 Medical Construction & Design | J U LY/AUGUST 2015 | MCDM AG.COM Pile driving — the sound of progress Edwards could see, hear and feel pile driving just outside her of ce window. It made meetings and conference calls dif cult, but of greater concern was the ef ect on patients and staf . "They were not happy with it," Edwards recalled. "Even though we had a great communication plan and patients appreciated the new facilities, our patient satisfaction scores took a dip due to the noise and disruption." Patients were of ered earplugs to dampen noise and ear buds for music, but the pounding was pervasive every day for eight weeks. "Some patients actually enjoyed watching the construction from their windows," Edwards recalled. It took 208 hits each to drive 628 90-foot piles for the East Tower, even after Whiting-Turner required the contractor to drill 25-foot pilot holes. The West Tower needed 472 piles over six weeks. Trucks bringing piles to the site could carry only two at a time and deliveries had to be scheduled between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. to avoid gridlock on nearby interstates. All subcontractors bidding on the project knew what they were in for. They've learned that communicating a job's unique requirements up front reduces unplanned costs. Keeping patients safe during outages As the East and West towers neared completion, each required utility connections, which involved planned outages. For the hospital's facilities and nursing teams, preparing for these meant brainstorming every conceivable crisis. "We were preoccupied with failure," said Kreiser. "If the outage is extended, what's our plan B?" she would ask. "If there's a code blue called and the overhead speakers don't work, what's our backup plan?" For Facilities Director Richard Brock, planning for outages of electricity, medical gases, suction and other services included close attention to patient safety. "Every time we planned one of these, we had a safety stand down," Brock said. "All leadership walked through the plan together and then did so with their staf s." The work included more than 80 planned electrical interruptions and 45 for mechanical, plumbing and medical gas connections. Most were scheduled for the middle of the night and were accomplished in less time than allotted. Next steps All Sentara Leigh Hospital inpatients are in the new towers. The vacated B-wing was demolished to make room for a two-story atrium-style main entrance, outpatient spaces, central registration area and education rooms, scheduled to open in March of 2016. To reach a temporary main entrance, visitors walk through a landscaped healing garden between the East and West towers, which includes a labyrinth and varying terrains and elevations for orthopedic rehabilitation on nice days. Now in its fi nal 10 months, this complex replacement project is coming to bricks-and-mortar fruition, and a new beginning for Sentara Leigh Hospital is in sight. "Our patients deserve this, and I'm grateful that Sentara leadership had the vision to support this transformation," said Edwards. "Sentara Leigh Hospital has always been associated with cutting-edge design and state-of-the-art care, and we're going to build on that legacy for decades to come." Dale Gauding is a communications advisor for Sentara Healthcare. From left: Spacious work areas for nurses include counter- tops infused with ionized copper as part of a clinical trial in infection control. Triangle design creates a loop around patient fl oors, with a nurse station, coffee pot, ice machine and other amenities at each juncture.

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