Sector: Healthcare
St. Joseph’s Health Centre
Mental Health Emergency Services UnitWe consulted with hospital clinical staff, the architect and best practices documentation in the field of Mental Health design in order to provide tamper-proof and anti-ligature versions of M&E devices and services in all patient rooms.
Our project scope was the complete redevelopment of the existing Mental Health Emergency Services Unit. This involved upgrading and modernizing the unit in order to support eight patient rooms, (the previous unit had only three patient rooms).
New, energy-efficient LED lighting fixtures, complete with dimming controls, replaced the old, inefficient fluorescent lighting fixtures. Remote patient room controls, located at the Nurses’ Station, allow clinical staff to control the electrical receptacle in each patient’s room, the smart glass on the room’s door/window, as well as the room’s lighting fixture, including remote-controlled dimming. A modern real-time locating system was also provided; it includes patient tracking, staff duress and patient wandering functionality. Note: This project was honoured with a 2020 Toronto IES Illumination Section Award
More than 30 IP-based security cameras were installed, including two cameras in each patient room. These are viewable from computers at the Nurses’ Station.
One of the challenges of the project was that the hospital did not have a viable existing IT room to house all the new voice/data infrastructure. As a result, we had to design a new IT room on the floor below the renovation area to support the new unit and future Emergency Department redevelopment. This was done during construction; therefore, the design and coordination were fast-tracked and subsequently completed successfully.
Also, remote patient room controls were not well defined throughout the design process. During construction, we had to quickly coordinate with several vendors, each with a proprietary system, in order to provide a solution that the contractor could execute.
SERVICES
Mechanical Engineering | Electrical Engineering | Communications and Security Design | Lighting Design
PROJECT FEATURES
Status: Completed 2019 | Winner: 2020 Toronto IES Illumination Section Award | Energy-efficient LED lighting | Remote room controls | Real-time locating service | 30 IP-based cameras | New IT room
LOCATION
Toronto, Ontario
KEY SCOPE ELEMENTS
Tamper-proof and anti-ligature M&E services | Design of remote room controls to provide enhanced staff safety and minimizing disturbance to patients | Fast-track design of IT room was required during construction stage
Remotely located controls
This approach provides increased staff security and convenience, and minimizes disturbance to patients.
Optimal visibility
A new security and communications design allows safe observation of patient activities from a secure staff area.
Niagara Health System
ICAT Strategy“Angus Connect’s approach to developing the ICAT Design Program for the new South Niagara Hospital was both forward-looking and grounded in reality, giving us a solid foundation as we move into Stage 3 of our redevelopment project. We really appreciated their fresh perspective on emerging technology, and in-depth knowledge of the opportunities and risks inherent in these types of projects.”
Sime Pavlovic, CIO, Niagara HealthNiagara Health (NH) operates five hospitals and community care facilities in the Niagara Region, serving a diverse population of nearly half a million people and the second highest percentage of seniors aged 65+ in Ontario. The new South Niagara Hospital is expected to consolidate three of the existing sites into a state-of-the-art facility located south of Niagara Falls.
Angus Connect was engaged to help NH achieve their ICAT vision by translating the future state vision into a forward-looking and feasible ICAT design program which could be easily translated into Project Specific Output Specifications (PSOS) as part of Stage 3. Niagara Health was able to capitalize on a unique opportunity, having recently constructed the new St. Catharines Site hospital (2013) which incorporated many current ICAT solutions at the time – the lessons learned from this redevelopment project were addressed as part of the ICAT design program, along with governance and change management recommendations.
In order to complete this work, we participated in the development of the ICAT vision and principles, then developed evaluation criteria and prioritization of ICAT solutions. Our team took a novel approach to stakeholder engagement, categorizing technology options as bronze, silver or gold in order to indicate various levels of implementation and to stimulate productive discussion regarding the functional requirements and use cases for clinical, business and building systems. The output from these sessions was summarized into solution profiles which detailed system requirements, key outcomes & performance indicators, governance, change management strategies, potential risks and challenges (along with mitigation measures), and proposed scope to support Stage 3 documentation.
Finally the ICAT solutions were mapped onto an eight-year implementation plan which addressed both pre-construction and post-construction activities, in addition to those in scope for the redevelopment project. Our team also generated a comprehensive budget cost estimate which included evaluation of potential funding sources based on our previous experience working on Infrastructure Ontario and MoHLTC-funded projects.
SERVICES
ICAT Strategy | Planning, Design and Compliance (PDC)
PROJECT FEATURES
Status: Completed 2020 | Multi-site hospital system which competes with US hospitals due to its proximity to the border | Unique opportunity to incorporate into the design program lessons learned from recent construction of St. Catharines Site hospital
LOCATION
Niagara Region, Ontario
KEY SCOPE ELEMENTS
Angus Connect successfully delivered a detailed ICAT Design Report in less than three months, including a roadmap, equipment planning and budget cost estimates | Angus Connect presented its findings from the ICAT design at the Niagara Health Innovation Conference in February 2020
Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal
Temporary Energy Centre
The CHUM temporary energy centre was built to supply Saint-Luc Hospital with steam, cooling, heating and emergency power services during the demolition of the existing energy centre and the construction of the new CHUM hospital and its energy centre. The temporary energy centre operated until commissioning of the new permanent energy centre was completed.
HH Angus was retained to study the equipment and systems required for this installation, and to prepare the phasing plan. We were also responsible for development of the conceptual design and the detailed design, and for engineering services over the course of construction and commissioning of the provisional energy centre.
This project resulted in a very complex power plant constructed in a constrained space on top of the loading dock building. The six spiral tube boilers supplied 860 kPa (125 psig) of steam to each mechanical room serving the existing facilities at Saint-Luc Hospital, the CHUM Research Centre, the Édouard Asselin and André Viallet Pavilions. As well, provision was made for the construction activities for the new facility. The electrical supply was upgraded from 12.5kV to 25kV, with transformers distributed throughout the site.
The steam piping to each building had to be routed so as not to interfere with construction of the massive P3 CHUM mega-hospital. Provisions for future connections were made to reduce interruptions of the steam supply to the CHUM Research Centre.
Working in collaboration with the Constructor, the general contractor and the subcontractors, we were able to apply innovative design approaches to reduce the cost of the energy centre. This was achieved while maintaining the facility’s established life cycle parameters, and without compromising technical or operational quality.
A very important aspect of our work was ensuring that the connection of the new temporary energy centre and the disconnection and the decommissioning of the existing energy centre would have no impact on the day-to-day operations of the existing health care facility.
SERVICES
Mechanical Engineering | Electrical Engineering
PROJECT FEATURES
Status: Completed 2012 | Disconnection and decommissioning of existing energy centre was achieved with no impact on day to day operations of existing hospital | Innovative design approaches resulted in cost reductions for energy centre
LOCATION
Montréal, Québec
KEY SCOPE ELEMENTS
P3 | Steam, cooling, heating and emergency power services | A very complex power plant in a constrained space | Routing of steam piping designed to avoid interference with construction of P3 mega hospital
SickKids Hospital
Digital Strategy and ICAT RoadmapProject Horizon is a massive campus redevelopment that will transform the experience of patients and healthcare professionals, and enable the state-of-the-art healthcare facility to embrace new technologies and processes.
Angus Connect was engaged by the world-renowned paediatric clinical and research hospital to develop a comprehensive digital strategy and ICAT roadmap to support Project Horizon - New Patient Care Tower. This new facility is expected to be 22 stories on the existing SickKids campus in downtown Toronto, and to be integrated with the existing facilities.
Angus Connect is developing the Digital Strategy, Vision and Guiding Principles in accordance with the Project Horizon Vision and SickKids’ Strategic Plan. This will culminate in an ICAT Roadmap, which will inform SickKids of current and upcoming technologies to support the delivery of patient care integrated with research and learning. Once complete, the Roadmap will include a high-level Implementation Plan and Budget for incorporation into SickKids’ Project Horizon Stage 2: Functional Program Submission, and to form the basis of future stages of Project Horizon. The outputs of our Design Program will inform the specifications for the project.
Project Horizon is a multi-year project with the objective to transform SickKids’ physical facilities in order to support the future delivery of paediatric care and address myriad infrastructure deficiencies and limitations that impact quality and safety. The project will consist of the demolition of three buildings and the construction of two new buildings in a complex sequence that will span more than a decade before patients can be accommodated in the new facilities. With extensive experience delivering ICAT digital strategic plans for hospitals across Canada, our team is collaborating closely with SickKids to deep dive into the future of healthcare delivery and understanding their organizational needs today and those anticipated for the future in order to deliver a comprehensive and flexible ICAT roadmap to support Project Horizon. The team is also able to draw on HH Angus’ decades-long experience with large P3 healthcare design and construction projects.
SERVICES
ICAT strategic visioning and planning
PROJECT FEATURES
Size: 22 stories on existing downtown campus | Status: Ongoing
LOCATION
Toronto, Ontario
KEY SCOPE ELEMENTS
Comprehensive digital strategy and ICAT roadmap | Integration with existing facilities | High-level implementation plan and budget | Functional Program Submission | Jurisdictional Scan
Visioning for the future
Angus Connect is providing SickKids with a Jurisdictional Scan of peer organizations from countries around the globe. We worked with our network of global partners (Subject Matter Experts) to understand and identify leading organizations in particular technologies and to make contacts. A market scan of the current and emerging technologies that will change the way healthcare is delivered in 10, 20 and 30 years was also developed as the basis for a Visioning Session with the Leadership Group. This includes concepts such as virtual care, artificial intelligence, robotics, machine learning and 4D printing.
St. Michael’s Hospital
Walter and Maria Schroeder Brain and Heart Centre
“The catheterization lab's capacity is unparalleled and will enable us to make use of state-of-the-art equipment to care for our patients.”
Kim Boswell, Clinical Leader Manager Cardiac Catheterization Labs and Cardiac Arrhythmia Service, SMH
With the Walter and Maria Schroeder Brain & Heart Centre, St. Michael’s Hospital is creating a hub to bring together the world’s best brain and heart specialists, a group of multi-disciplinary experts in engineering and the clinical neurosciences, to develop new therapies for brain-related disorders, such as Alzheimer’s, Lou Gehrig disease (ALS) and Parkinson’s. The new centre will enable patients to be diagnosed, tested and treated in a seamless approach in a single location.
The new catheterization lab, where diagnostic imaging procedures take place to diagnose and treat cardiac issues, is now the largest of its kind inside St. Michael’s, expanding by almost a third of its previous size. The new robotic C-arm will set new benchmarks for precision during various diagnostic imaging procedures.
HH Angus was engaged to provide mechanical and engineering services; lighting design; IT, security, audio visual and communications consulting; and commissioning. Our project scope covered the renovation of an existing Cath Lab, along with associated equipment and control rooms, in order to accommodate a larger footprint and new state-of-the-art medical and imaging equipment.
The project design was future proofed with the expanded Cath lab providing increased capacity for cardiac procedures, thanks to a requirement to design the procedure area to be flexible enough for use as an Operating Room in future. It also includes state-of-the-art audio visual capabilities, with live data streams displayed on electronic screens throughout the room. Future capabilities include extensive video and audio feeds from within the room, as well as the ability to videoconference and live-stream procedures to locations both within and outside St. Michael’s. This will facilitate education, research and external consults.
Upgrades included: medical gas system and alarm replacement, including the installation of an articulated service boom; eventual conversion from passive to active scavenging system; ventilation system; and two new neuro interventional bi-plane suites, enabling image-guided and minimally-invasive procedures.
Challenges met by our project team include:
- Designing the space to meet a Hybrid OR environment, including supplying 20 air changes per hour above the patient care area with limited ceiling space
- Creating flexible ventilation design to allow future connection to a new air handling system, without causing major shutdowns to or rework of the existing space
- As a partial solution to #1, installing a combined lighting and air supply product (EH Price Ultrasuite), which had not yet been implemented anywhere in Canada, and ensuring all local code requirements were met.
- Coordinating the complex video requirements of multiple specialized medical systems in order to route diagnostic-quality video and audio feeds appropriately.
Read about other projects at St. Michael’s Hospital
Barlo MS Centre
Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute
Photo courtesy of Unity Health
SERVICES
Mechanical Engineering | Electrical Engineering | Lighting Design | Security | Communications | Audio Visual | IMIT | Commissioning
PROJECT FEATURES
Status: Completion 2020 | Future-proofed design with flexibility to permit re-purposing of procedure area
LOCATION
Toronto, Ontario
KEY SCOPE ELEMENTS
Cardiac catheterization lab | Hybrid OR environment