$1 million construction project now underway at Cambridge Medical Center

Posted 4/11/01

$1 million construction project now underway at Cambridge Medical Center

When the work is finished, you wonít be able to see a difference but youíll certainly be able to feel it.

Construction officially begins on Monday, April 9th at Cambridge Medical Center (CMC) to replace the 25-year-old heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) system on the third floor of the hospital. When replaced, the new system will provide a much more comfortable environment with indoor temperatures in the 70s instead of the 80s and 90s.

ìThe current HVAC system had been pushed to its limits and was simply unable to adequately regulate the temperatures on third floor. Last summer was especially uncomfortable for patients and staff. The new system will have the capacity to fulfill our current needs and provide a much more comfortable environment,î said Dennis Doran, CMC Administrator.

Funding for the project is being provided through Allina Hospitals & Clinics. ìCapital projects of this magnitude would not be possible without the financial support of Allina,î said Doran.

The medical center and the contractor have been working together to develop an implementation plan that will minimize disruption to patients and staff. ìOur first priority is patient care and comfort. We will be taking a number of steps to attempt to keep the noise down and away from patient rooms. The contractors intend to do most of the assembly work away from the patient care areas,î said Doran.

There will be nine phases to the project and each phase will take approximately one to two weeks to complete. Each phase will require closing and isolating a small number of patient rooms from the rest of the patient care areas. Once a phase is completed, barriers will be relocated to the next location and the process will be repeated. As work is completed within each phase, the patient rooms will be reopened. All occupied patient rooms will have adequate, uncontaminated ventilation at all times.

ìWe know there will be some inconvenience to patients, visitors, and staff but we hope everyone will bear with us over the next three months. It will all be worth it when the new system is up and running,î said Doran.

The medical center has some special plans to acknowledge staff who will be working amidst the construction. ìWe intend to have some fun with this project to thank our staff for working in less than ideal conditions. Some small celebrations are planned at the conclusion of each phase of the project to recognize the progress made and help keep our spirits up,î said Doran.