It’s a project that’s been years in the making, and now the countdown is on until patients can be treated at The University of New Mexico Hospital Critical Care Tower.
As of Aug. 1, the construction project has officially received its temporary certificate of occupancy.
UNM Hospital Chief Operating Officer Mike Chicarelli explained this officially marks the end of construction.
“That is a milestone that is incredibly important, because it signifies the point when the contractor has finished their work and they are turning the building over to the owner, in this case, us,” Chicarelli said.
Now the attention turns to the “activation” phase.
“Activation is as important as a construction phase,” Chicarelli said. “Now that the temporary certificate of occupancy has been issued, we're allowed to go into the building to begin setting up equipment and stocking the building with material.”
Activation is a multifaceted phase, and a big part revolves around getting staff and providers familiar with the new space and layout.
“When time matters, and it does, you don't want to be looking for the elevator to get you to the operating room,” Chicarelli said. “You want to know exactly where that is. So, we are fortunate enough to get about two months where our teams can walk through and make sure that they're comfortable with the building itself and know the emergency procedures for any situation.”
Every minute matters when treating patients, and that’s why spending several weeks in the activation phase is crucial.
The CCT features a bridge connecting to the Pavilion. Photo courtesy of UNM Health Marketing and Communication Dept.
The CCT has a helipad that will be used in conjunction with the UNM Hospital helipad. Photo courtesy of UNM Health Marketing and Communication Dept.
The CCT lobby features floor to ceiling windows to allow as much natural light in as possible. Photo courtesy of UNM Health Marketing and Communication Dept.
The activation phase also means cleaning every each space in preparation of accepting patients. Photo courtesy of UNM Health Marketing and Communication Dept.
Patients, staff and providers will have beautiful halls and rooms to work and stay in. Photo courtesy of UNM Health Marketing and Communication Dept.
The CCT lobby is designed to be an open space that's inviting to all patients. Photo courtesy of UNM Health Marketing and Communication Dept.
“Activation is extremely important because we can't go into the building having inefficiencies or put our patients at risk by not having emergency procedures already pre-rehearsed,” Chicarelli said.
Planning out this phase takes months and requires detailed scheduling. The hospital also partners with local law enforcement and fire departments to ensure their staff know the layout of the building in case of emergencies.
Another component of the activation phase at the UNM Critical Care Tower includes installing state-of-the-art equipment to deliver the best patient care and experience.
“There's different buckets of the equipment,” Chicarelli said. “There's the major medical equipment, things like CT scanners, MRIs, the large pieces of equipment. The major medical equipment move has been going on for some time now.”
Additionally, crews must move and install all the smaller items, such as furniture, office equipment, and smaller medical devices.
“The medical equipment is bit of a tough move, because we have things like monitors and the machines that take your blood pressure that need to track its way over there,” Chicarelli said. “And it seems like you can just roll it across the bridge, right? But it’s more intricate than that because we must coordinate patient care and ensure equipment isn’t moved before the patients who need it are moved.”
Over the next two months, staff will learn the layout to the new home of the adult ICUs and Emergency Department, as well as some radiology services which will also move to the new tower.
While Chicarelli is thrilled about this major milestone, he said more than anything he can’t wait to deliver the world-class care all New Mexicans deserve.
“It's been a very long haul, and it has consumed a lot of our time and brain power, but I’ll be even more excited when we care for our first patients there successfully,” he said.
The UNM Hospital Critical Care Tower is scheduled to start receiving patients the first week of October.
