Healthcare services are increasingly evolving, forcing our nation’s hospitals to expand. As a result, healthcare/hospital renovation and construction projects have risen, especially in the past decade.

Expanding the existing medical healthcare facilities or hospitals while service is still in progress requires foresight, careful planning and actions to ensure the safety of the patients, hospital staff and construction workers. A minor miscalculation or oversight can have devastating consequences, considering how sensitive the industry at hand is.

When handling any hospital renovation or construction project, Titan Restoration has a minimum standard of construction guidelines and requirements that the team strives to follow.

Establish policies and procedures with the hospital

As a team of specialized contractors, we understand that each healthcare facility has policies and procedures. As professionals, we know the importance of meeting these policies imposed by any hospital or healthcare facility.

The team starts by studying these policies and identifying means to incorporate our working procedures to eliminate any possibility of a violation.

During this stage, some questions that we try to answer are:

• Who is our primary contact in the health facility?
• Which are the high-risk zones in the hospitals? (Surgery section or elderly care section)
• Are there any restricted areas in the hospital?
• Does the hospital have any designated facilities, including work entrances, store rooms or lifts?
• What are the access procedures? Do the workers need badge access, or do they need swipe cards to access any special zones?
• Are there any restrictions on working hours?
• Does the hospital provide particular parking areas for its workers?

Our construction manager communicates the following information with the primary contact (s):

• The zone that the team will be working in
• Any potential hazards that might disrupt the patient’s well-being (this could range from sound to dust hazards)
• The approximate project duration
• Information on any chemicals used during renovation
• The safety precautions are taken by the team members (Such as PPE kits, Gloves)
• Any additional measures to eliminate work-related hazards. For example, I am setting up a Temporary Negative Pressure Isolation or using HEPA Air Filters.

Latest in certified safety equipment

Titan construction makes no compromise regarding safety equipment used during our projects. We are a team of forward-thinking professionals who reviews our safety equipment before the onset of every project. We also allocate a budget to invest in advanced and certified safety equipment every year.

The PPE Kits and the gloves used in hospital environments are either discarded daily or thoroughly sanitized every day depending on the zone in the hospital that the team works in or the type of work hazards the team is dealing with.

Regarding the safety helmets, every crew member used a certified lightweight helmet with a strap. We ensure that the helmet forces a uniform weight distribution across the head, thereby adding comfort and protection against impacts on the head.

Preventing common accidents

In the United States, construction remains one of the most dangerous occupations. In addition to prioritizing patient safety, we ensure all measures to prevent work accidents are taken. The safety team puts together an overarching safety plan which is reviewed multiple times by our team of engineers with strict attention to detail. A copy of the project is also shared with each employee to ensure compliance.

Any risk identified is reviewed from multiple angles, and the consequences are validated. The next step is to identify different solutions to reduce or eliminate the risk impact as early and effectively as possible.

The supervisor and the crew must attend the main safety briefing conducted at the start of the project. A mandatory preparatory meeting is scheduled at the beginning of each shift. The conference addresses the tasks to be completed each day, the machines and equipment to be used, and the zones where they will be used.

Construction in a hospital environment presents several challenges ranging from a simple trip hazard to an airborne infection spread. The consequences can be detrimental; this is where Titan’s team of certified contractors can make a big difference.