Feature Article
A WORLD CLASS HEART INSTITUTE
Written By: Lawrence Herzog
Published By: Real Estate Weekly
Article © Copyright Lawrence Herzog
2008-01-24
; "A world class heart institute")
Designed in collaboration with architects and cardiovascular specialists and based on thoughtful input from the best heart institutes in the world, the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute is nearly complete. Planned and built over the last five years, the $196-million project gives Edmonton and the adjacent University of Alberta a leading-edge facility specializing in pediatric and adult patient care, education and research.
Constructed alongside Capital Health's Walter C. Mackenzie Health Science's Centre and atop the hospital's existing emergency department, the Institute at 8440 112th Street enables a level of cardiovascular care not possible previously. It is right next to the University of Alberta Hospital and Stollery Children's Hospital, eliminating the need for patients to be transferred to other facilities to see specialists.
It is, in the words of Brent Skinner, Chief Planning Officer, Capital Health, "Truly a world-class facility combining the very latest in cardiac technologies with a patient-friendly environment. I am particularly pleased as to the way in which our architects were able to integrate the design with the existing hospital building complex."
Named for Right Honourable Don Mazankowski, former Deputy Prime Minister, Vegreville Member of Parliament, and a heart patient himself, the 34,000 square metre building covers eight occupied floors in the main tower and five floors in the lower section. The heart institute will provide a full range of heart care services, and will focus particularly on complex heart care, such as pediatric cardiac surgery and heart transplantation.
In so doing, the heart institute will become one of North America's leading medical facilities, with the ability to perform cardiac surgery and heart transplants, cardiology services, diagnostic testing. It will also be a world class place to research and teach.
The new centre has 124-beds, with shelled space for 20 more and five state-of-the-art digital operating rooms, with room for one more. One of the operating rooms is dedicated to pediatric procedures.
There are two adult catheterization labs and three electrophysiology labs. The top three floors are shelled in to provide room for future expansion.
The intricacy of the operational systems presented the design team with tremendous implementation challenges. The complexity of the technology is astonishing " a variety of gas systems, technology for the electronics, five different wireless systems and a patient tracking system.
I ask Ron Hazelaar, the project architect for Stantec Architecture Ltd., if all the complexity kept him up at night. "Many nights," he responds. "There was a lot to consider."
The project demanded an exceptional degree of pre-planning by the contractor, EllisDon Construction, especially considering its location atop an existing emergency department and right next to the Walter C. Mackenzie Health Sciences Centre.
The attention to detail also extended to energy efficiency, as the new heart institute is being constructed to achieve LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. LEED certification distinguishes building projects that have demonstrated a commitment to sustainability by meeting higher performance standards in environmental responsibility and energy efficiency.
"All the way through the process, we evaluated materials to ensure they met the needs of the client and also the criteria for LEED certification," Hazelaar says. "We paid particular attention to HVAC (Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning) systems, materials selection for non-toxicity, and recycling any waste construction materials."
The building's mechanical system utilizes some of the largest and most energy-efficient air handling units to be found on the continent. The units are designed to recover up to 78 percent of the heat exhausted from the building while providing 100 per cent fresh air with no recirculation. The technology recycles the heat, but not the air.
As a place of hope and healing, the Mazankowski Alberta Health Institute strives to make patients, staff and visitors feel peaceful and well. Every patient room has windows and a superb view of either the broad Edmonton skyline, a garden rooftop, or a lush indoor two-storey healing garden.
Patient rooms are planned for comfort and efficiency. Advanced features include a wireless nurse call system, bedside charting, and interactive bedside terminals. In the digital operating theatres, ceiling-mounted articulated booms ensure that all equipment is off the floor for ease of cleaning.
To ensure patients can be swiftly transported to and from operating rooms and/or the emergency department, corridors and elevators have been ideally placed. The high-speed Megavator provides access from the roof top heliport to the emergency department. A wide, windowed stairwell encourages able-bodied persons to get some exercise rather than taking the elevator. Between each floor, mechanical components are housed on interstitial floors. The system minimizes the impact of future repairs or renovations on day-to-day operations.
The building is also home for the Alberta Cardiovascular and Stroke Research Centre, the Shaw Auditorium and the Cardio Rehabilitation Facility. Funding for the project is coming from several sources " the province of Alberta, the University of Alberta Hospital Foundation and the federal government.
Symbolic of what the heart institute is all about is a towering curtain of glass, three inches thick that curves around the south wall. It maintains heat and humidity and bathes patient rooms with rejuvenating natural light. Like the exceptional new facility it adorns, the wall of glass is a window to wellness and the quest to shed light on the mysteries of heart disease.
