ASHE supports White House initiative on preparedness

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 16, 2015

CHICAGO – Teams involved in the three hospital projects are celebrating after earning this year’s prestigious Vista Awards, which were presented at the 2015 International Summit & Exhibition on Health Facility Planning, Design & Construction (PDC Summit) in San Antonio, Texas.

The Vista Awards, presented by the American Society for Healthcare Engineering (ASHE) of the American Hospital Association, recognize the significance of collaboration in creating optimal health care environments. Each winning team has exemplified outstanding teamwork in all stages of their respective health care projects, from pre-planning to the final reveal.

The winners of the 2015 Vista Awards included a new construction project involving a large campus expansion at the Baystate Medical Center in Massachusetts; the renovation of the 2^nd floor women’s health center at Mercy St. Louis in Missouri; and a state-of-the-art power plant infrastructure project at the South Georgia Medical Center in Georgia.

New Construction
Baystate Medical Center’s Hospital of the Future
Springfield, Massachusetts

Baystate Medical Center has reached the halfway point in its 15-year construction master plan. The recent 630,000 sq. ft. campus expansion boasts an inpatient bed replacement, adult and pediatric emergency department and trauma center, a heart and vascular center, surgery expansion, private patient rooms, and new parking facilities. The design facilitates multidisciplinary care with a clear separation of public and patient flow from staff and supply movement. The result is a state-of-the-art building, which includes two seven-story wings and one five-story wing, focused on a patient-centered healing environment.

Renovation
Mercy Hospital St. Louis’s 2nd Floor Women’s Health Center
St. Louis, Missouri

This project involved the design and construction of an entirely new infrastructure and unit layout within the original 1962 building. Three wings on the second floor of a seven-story patient tower were gutted for the project while lean design concepts were analyzed and instituted for the new unit. Decentralized nurse stations, standard equipment and placement within the patient floors, and standard support room layouts on each wing have improved operational workflow. Despite unexpected plumbing issues and other speed bumps along the way, flexible work schedules, daily communication, and coordination among all team members kept the project on track.

Infrastructure
South Georgia Medical Center’s Power Plant Replacement
Valdosta, Georgia

The center’s original power plant from the 1950s was recently replaced with a modern, state-of-the-art plant designed to provide emergency power for the SGMC Main Campus as well as the new Dasher Memorial Heart Center and Patient Tower. The new power plant houses 42 miles of cables and conduit. When the power plant’s large diesel generators are fired up, the system uses 180 gallons of diesel fuel per hour to operate key systems within the hospital. The South Georgia Medical Center now has peace of mind in the face of unforeseen electricity emergencies, thanks to this innovative new plant.

For more information about the Vista Awards and the winners, click here.