After 2,000 healthcare projects completed at 20 hospitals, we’re opening our best practices notebook to show you some of the industry concerns that we address on a project. Demanding industry- and facility-specific requirements are always in play.
Safety and Security of Patients and Staff During Continual Operation
Care delivery—and peace of mind for hospital staff and patients—can’t go on pause, not even for big projects. When Stone Springs Hospital in Dulles, VA reached out to us for a buildout of their NICU unit, one of their chief concerns was having construction crews on the L&D (labor and delivery) floor. The expansion would bring more capability, but it could not jeopardize or disturb the staff and their (very) young charges.
The solution? The Scott-Long team brought in a lift to bring manpower and materials up to the roof and in through a window so we could isolate the jobsite from the patients, their families and staff. It takes a high level of healthcare-specific knowledge, close collaboration, and intense planning to make sure facilities stay free of contamination, noise, dust, and distractions. Privacy for both staff, patients, and family is also integral to planning—and mandated by HIPAA, which is another reason why applied acoustic engineering knowledge is key.
Extra care and planning keeps work zones separate from patients, staff, and sensitive equipment.
Planning for Infection Control and Protecting Critical Systems
Infection control is one of the guideposts from Day One of planning in a healthcare construction job. The final project could encompass dedicated sterile areas, pressurized rooms, cabling for anything from imaging to operating rooms to IT backbones—as well as specialized HVAC systems and proper airflow. Material selection is also key, as is a team who can fit it all inside both industry- and state-required medical building standards. It requires an extra measure of care and rigor.
Our work houses CT equipment, cath labs, and we have been charged with making structural modifications to accommodate robotics, MRI equipment, proton therapy units, and many other advanced systems. When new healthcare technology comes online, “newer and better” usually requires new techniques or ideas in facility planning.
Scott-Long’s team of Certified Healthcare Constructors understands the complex and sensitive environments of healthcare facilities. We’re proud of hiring and nurturing construction talent who not only excel in the logistics and planning of demanding jobs, but bring niche health care expertise, too.
Eric Patterson, our Healthcare Project Manager, is an expert in medical gas systems and devices, helping us build complex systems to spec and meet rigorous health care standards. Clovis Van Ness, our ASHE/ICRA Certified, Health Care Construction Certified General Superintendent, has deep experience with navigating complex builds of headwalls and the gas systems—as well as MRIs, CATs, CTs, Imaging, and operating room environments—includes superb on-the-ground coordination with hospital staff.
Scott-Long senior leaders like Project Executive Christopher Mattingly and Senior Project Manager Carol Horne, Senior Project Manager, give our clients confidence with project delivery, operations, budgets, quality control, and a host of other critical skills.
Healthcare construction is an intricate dance that requires deep construction knowledge, and how to apply it in a care setting without undue distractions to staff or discomfort for patients.