New England Health Facility - Peer Project

Authored by: Alison Brisson, CHFM, SASHE and Katrina Reade

Concord Hospital started the planning and design for two state-of-the-art Cardiovascular Operating Rooms (CVOR) in the early months of 2020. The plan was to take three smaller operating rooms, which had low utilization rates, and create two large CVORs with a shared equipment room in-between. This project was not easy as the remaining twelve operating rooms stayed live and functional. The extensive team involved with the CVOR project, including various Concord Hospital departments, outside architects, engineers and equipment vendors all had the patient as priority ONE. Depending on the task at hand, interactions varied from small meetings with a few people to a full-scale mock-up of the planned CVORs with participation from surgeons, anesthesiologists, perfusionists, nursing support staff, managers, architects, IT/bioengineering and facility engineering. Communication and collaboration was critical to this team to get this project right, and there were no stones left unturned.

The design phase of the project took place at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The team used 3D rendering tools during virtual meetings to get feedback on the design and eventually, a full-scale mock-up of the larger of the two operating rooms, the equipment storage room and the scrub area was constructed in an open shell space of the Hospital. The mock-up allowed staff to see potential issues in the design which could affect work flow or patient care.

Concord Hospital used a tiered system to carefully manage metrics to ensure the project was completed on time and on budget. The Project Manager was responsible for developing the initial budget estimate as well as tracking the actual spend. The Project Operations Manager, Supervisor and Director of Facilities would meet bi-weekly to review the budget and timeline. Monthly, the Director, Project Operations Manager and Supervisor, Vice President of Support Services and Accounting team would validate all transactions charged to the project. The project timeline was tight and did not allow for the unplanned, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced the team to be agile as supply and labor issues arose. Through the hard work and diligence of all involved, the CVORs saw their first patients on October 28, 2021, and was completed under budget despite the many challenges.

Project Team

Architect: Stone River Architects, Engineer: Yeaton Associates, Inc., Construction Management: Harvey Construction, Concord Hospital Construction Coordinator: Dave McLean, Concord Hospital Project Manager: Darlene Pike, Project Operations Supervisor: Katrina Reade, Project Operations Manager: Jay Gemmiti, Director of Facilities: Alison Brisson