Construction Planning
Don’t Be Squeezed Out

Undersized janitor’s closets. No storage space. How are we going to put all that garbage in that space? Do these complaints sound familiar? They should as I hear them all the time from clients. However, there is light at the end of the tunnel. 

The government has committed to renew the Ontario healthcare infrastructure and it is long over due. Many hospitals were built to provide an in-patient model of care. The move to more out-patient/day procedures, and specialized services has left many hospitals out of space. 

The planning process for a new facility or the re-development of an old building is a key. The process will involve the development of a functional program. This is usually accomplished by a planning consultant conducting a series of meetings with all the programs and key stakeholders. The functional program details the operations of the different services and the space required for each program. The architect then designs a building to meet the operational requirements of the users. Current estimates for construction of $350 to $400 a sq. foot means every inch must be accounted for and well documented. 

It is the responsibility of the Environmental Manager to be a full participant in as many of the program user group planning meetings as possible. The clinical staff usually don’t have the expertise to represent your concerns to the planning consultants and you will end up living with the results. 

A recent example to illustrate this is that the nursing staff thought it would be an excellent idea to have non-slip flooring in the patient rooms as it would help prevent falls. When construction was complete and all the patients moved into their new rooms, the housekeeper went to mop the brand new floors and found that it was impossible to mop as the mop would not glide across the floor. The only solution was to replace all the floors or machine scrub them on a daily basis. 

I was recently in a brand new emergency department where the waiting room walls had nice Venetian textured plastered walls. A nightmare to clean the next time an ill patient vomits all over them. 

These are just some small examples of the issues you will be left with long after the consultants are gone and you are left to clean the building with an ever shrinking number of housekeeping staff. The selection of finish materials from floors to walls, light fixtures and furniture will have a long term impact on your budget and your ability to keep the building clean. 

These materials must be cleanable and be able to withstand the daily / weekly cleaning that is required in a hospital. A new building can quickly become old looking if these finishes start to deteriorate. 

The final area I often seen as an issue is that the support services space is often underestimated. I still see janitor’s closets that are required to accommodate a floor sink, store two maid carts, vacuums, a burnisher and other supplies, sized at 30 sq. feet. This, of course, is impossible and the equipment is moved all over the place which becomes a source of frustration for the housekeeper to try to find everyday.

The soiled and clean utility rooms are often undersized and the daily moving of carts in and out damage the walls and create a maintenance nightmare. 

Due to a lack of storage space, beds and equipment fill the corridors and create life safety and fire code issues. It is essential for the Environmental Manager to be fully involved in the planning of the new facility not only to ensure the new building is functional, but to reduce operating costs in the future. The expertise you can bring to the process will be invaluable and the final result will be worth the time spent.