Virginia Mason Medical Center (Multiple Projects)
Seattle, WA
North Buck Pavilion Elevator Upgrade
Wood Harbinger provided electrical engineering for new electrical systems to support the three upgraded elevators in the North Buck Pavilion. We designed upgraded power distribution and lighting systems in the elevator penthouse and made minor adjustments to the fire alarm system. It was challenging to obtain accurate load data to inform our design and the existing building’s limited electrical infrastructure proved challenging to work around but with our knowledge of the facility and creative design, we were able to successfully design the elevator electrical support systems. Completed March 2016.
Gastrointestinal Procedures Renovation
Despite operating in a 50-year old facility, the care provided by Virginia Mason’s gastrointestinal (GI) division consistently ranks among the top medical centers in the country for patient-centric treatment and positive outcomes. Recent renovations to its GI procedures spaces gives them a more contemporary and facility in which to continue their successes.
Wood Harbinger provided mechanical and electrical engineering for the upgrades, which modified the floor plan to improve staff workflow and patient care, and separated the disinfect and clean rooms to improve these two distinct operations. The design team navigated the challenges of working within a limited budget and around existing systems to create a modern design.
In a creative and cost effective measure, the existing infrastructure was able to be reused while successfully meeting current codes and design best practices. Our mechanical engineers modified the existing constant volume air handling system into a variable air volum (VAV) system, allowing the system to more efficiently meet the required hourly air changes and pressurization for the procedures and cleaning rooms. Our electrical systems design included upgrades to LED fixtures throughout the space to improve energy efficiency and also improve hygiene by reducing the amount of surface area that can collect dust. Completed February 2015.
Linear Accelerator Replacement
Size 1,500 SF
This project replaced the linear accelerator in the radiation oncology department located in the basement of the Buck Pavilion at Virginia Mason Medical Center. This complex project removed the linear accelerator, renovated the shielding vault, and installed a new accelerator.
The new system was larger than the previous equipment, and the shielding vault was too small to accommodate the new equipment. We were able to fit the support equipment in a room adjacent to the vault, but this required some innovative methods for routing cables between the LINAC gantry in the vault and the support equipment in the adjacent equipment room. The biggest challenge was to find a way to route cable from the support equipment into the vault with 3-foot thick concrete walls.
The linear accelerator design included complex integration of the LINAC control systems with the power for operating warning lights, positioning lasers, and camera systems. In addition to designing the linear accelerator installation, raceway and power provisions were included for the future addition of BrainLAB equipment that allows doctors to treat cancer patients using real time 3-D imaging of the patient’s brain.
To bring the project into compliance with current electrical codes, Wood Harbinger extended the critical branch electrical power to serve the floor. We designed a new panel that extends critical branch electrical power, and developed a procedure to exchange the panels with minimal interruption in patient care.
The project included installing new mechanical cooling systems incidental to the new LINAC. The old linear accelerator was cooled using city water, causing millions of gallons of water to be cycled through the system and then dumped down the drain each year. Wood Harbinger’s design solution extends the building’s condenser water system to the radiation oncology department. Condenser water piping was extended to both the new LINAC and the second (existing) LINAC on the floor so that both units will be cooled with recyclable water rather than wasting millions of gallons of tap water annually.
6th Floor Surgical Perioperative and Waiting Room Renovation
When Virginia Mason’s Emergency Department was relocated to the new Jones Pavilion, the vacated space was demolished and renovated into the new Hospital Surgery Center. Wood Harbinger provided mechanical and electrical engineering services for the substantial reconfiguration to remodel the existing clinical exam and treatment rooms into an 11-bed perioperative patient area, where surgery patients receive anesthesia preparation before their procedure; a family waiting room; a reception area; and a sterile storage area to support the hospital’s operating rooms.
The Hospital Surgery Center’s new spaces required all new duct work and electrical systems. The existing HVAC system lacked the capacity to provide the code-required air volume. Wood Harbinger’s design included a new packaged air handling unit on the roof to provide air for the renovation areas and additional capacity for future remodel work. The substantial ceiling height limitation proved the most significant challenge for this project, as it made routing the duct work and various utilities extremely difficult.
Electrical systems included emergency power and normal power systems along with a new nurse call system, updated fire alarm system, and telecommunications systems. Completed February 2010.
H5 CT Scan Replacement
In an effort to upgrade CT scan capabilities in one of the older areas of the hospital, one of two existing CT Scan machines was removed, the other relocated into its place, and a new one was added where the relocated machine had been. The addition of the new machine and the relocation of the other created additional electrical and heat load, for which Wood Harbinger provided the mechanical and electrical engineering to address.
Our design emphasized reuse and optimization of the existing systems that supported the CT scan machines to minimize costs and impact on patient care during construction. Much of the existing wire way systems were retained, reconfigured, and reused. A heat balance analysis verified that the existing mechanical equipment could accommodate the increase loads with minimal upgrades; only some additional diffusers and grilles need to be added to accommodate the new loads as well as rebalance the system. We also added control dampers that will block off supply air in the anesthetizing locations in the event of an emergency.
We updated the medical gas systems, which included adding zone valves for one room and an area alarm panel for both rooms, and updated the room pressurizations to meet current code. We modified the existing fire sprinkler system in the area to accommodate changes in the walls and ceilings and added additional quick response sprinklers, piping, supports, and bracing. This project was successfully completed very quickly with no RFIs and no change orders. Completed February 2010.