St. Vincent Regional Cancer Center

The Challenge

During the 12 months of construction, St. Mary’s Hospital never shut down services and continued helping patients. Construction crews wore hospital scrubs when working in sterile areas and established infectious control measures while installing piping and ductwork. The facility was built according to LEED standards  and every system was selected according to environmental requirements. Additionally, work crews were confined to tight spaces and materials were delivered and installed sometimes on the same day.

The Solution

To minimize our impact on patients, we used smoke eaters, HEPA filters and visqueen to contain all work areas and adopted flexible scheduling to work evenings and work around patient appointments. Sustainable practices included:

• A low temperature reheat system using excess heat from multi-stack chillers was used to reheat the space as well as cool it.
• Air handlers used ultraviolet light to eliminate microorganisms and keep coils clean.
• The IT area is managed with redundant Liebert equipment to ensure accurate and critical temperatures and humidity.
• A multi-stack/heat recovery unit was installed to operate in spring/fall when cooling is in lower demand thus decreasing costs.
• Construction materials were recycled during the project
• HMI installed snow melting systems in the concrete that used converted steam. Snow melt systems provided safe, dry walking surfaces for patients and staff in the main driveway and in a reflection garden.