Innovation September-October 2013

i ns igh t

Nanaimo Regional General Hospital’s New Look and Feel

Robin J. Miller

Few people, if any, actually enjoy going into a hospital—and it’s not just because you have a health problem or you’re visiting someone who has. For many of us, the problem also lies in the facility itself: the lack of privacy with those thin curtains between the beds, the absence of sunlight and fresh air, the gloomy institutional paint on the walls. But, Nanaimo Regional General Hospital’s new 6,200 m 2 Emergency Room and Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit is different. Opened in fall 2012, the addition has been a hit with patients, families and staff alike, largely, says Deanna Fourt, Director of Energy Efficiency and Conservation for the Vancouver Island Health Authority (Island Health), because of the immense care that went into the design. “Our Capital Design and Construction Department worked with our designer to find out what staff considered essential for patients and for themselves in the new unit,” says Fourt, “such as sustainability and natural light and fresh air. As a result of those design sessions, I think the staff feel like they own the space now—it’s their space—which is great.” Like all provincial health authorities, Island Health is required in all new building projects to target LEED Gold standards of energy efficiency and environmental design. But also, like all provincial health authorities, Island Health’s budget is tight. For the Nanaimo addition, the design team needed to find advanced energy-saving measures that were cost-effective, and that also fulfilled the staff wish list and mandatory infection control requirements.

And they did. “They built us an amazing facility with a lot of leading edge design features, well within budget,” says Fourt. Those leading edge design

Cubicles are separated by glass sliding doors instead of curtains, reducing dust and increasing natural light and privacy.

features include a state-of-the- art HVAC system with thermal labyrinth. “It’s hard to find the right system for a hospital, a system that will show meaningful energy savings, because of the health care standards it is required to meet,” says BC Hydro Specialist Engineer Bojan Andjelkovic, P.Eng. “For one thing, hospitals change the air two to three times more often than regular office spaces to ensure the air is clear of contaminants. These standards put some major constraints on the design, because you need more air, more heat, more cooling, and your ventilation load is very high.” The thermal labyrinth system—a complex of concrete tunnels and water storage tanks integrated into the addition’s basement that can store heat in winter or act as a heat sink in summer—uses the building’s concrete mass and the water tanks to pre-heat and pre-cool air through strategically located and controlled air-inlet/outlet shafts. Other energy-saving features, identified through an energy-modeling study funded by BC Hydro’s New Construction Program, include extra insulation in roof and walls, high- performance glazing on operable windows, energy-efficient lighting and lighting controls and exterior solar shades. In a first for a BC hospital, the new addition also has a displacement ventilation

system coupled with radiant heating/ cooling ceiling panels. “It’s definitely a new thing to try in health care,” says Fourt. “The air comes in at low velocity, slightly cool, and sweeps heat and pathogens up to the ceiling and out. You have fresh, clean air all the time.” The addition also has lots of natural light to reduce dependence on electric fixtures, brought in through a series of courtyards—painted in cheerful and uplifting colours—that guarantee a view for virtually every room. In addition, cubicles are separated by glass sliding doors instead of curtains, reducing dust and increasing both natural light and privacy (they are sound-proof and can be quickly darkened). In total, the Nanaimo Regional General Hospital’s new Emergency Room and Psy- chiatric Intensive Care Unit is saving an estimated 1.1 million kWh per year over a similar space built without energy-sav- ing measures, which makes Deanna Fourt and Island Health very happy. “For a small investment in the beginning, you get a long- term reduction on your operational costs year after year,” says Fourt. “We estimate payback at just seven years. And I believe the way the unit was designed has had a great effect on patients as well. Patients and families spend time just looking out the win- dows. It’s a calming and beautiful space.” v

11

S E P T E M B E R /OC TO B E R 2 013

i n n o v a t i o n