Improving care environments and the bottom line at a Texas hospital

By Fawn Staerkel, Director, Healthcare Strategic Accounts, Johnson Controls

Comfortable environments. Reliable systems. Exceptional care. These qualities are necessary for hospitals to provide a recovery space where patients feel valued and safe. New, intelligent technologies can help hospital directors ensure their facilities are properly running and achieve their objectives, such as enhancing patient care and operational efficiency. Operating rooms need to stay within a specific temperature range to remain sterile, while recovery rooms might need to be at warmer temperatures with less fluorescent lighting to ensure patient comfort. However, many directors may not know where to start in their renovation process, as limited capital and numerous priorities can lead to overwhelming decisions. Enlisting a third-party can help.

Knowing where and how to enlist support

With a mission to commit to the care and improvement of human life, one full-service tertiary care hospital in Texas was experiencing challenges maintaining its dated infrastructure and systems. Hospital directors found it difficult, confusing, time consuming and costly to connect with the right contractors to address repairs, as there were multi-vendor systems throughout the campus. In a hospital where building systems like HVAC and lighting controls play a crucial role in patient care and recovery, minimizing system downtime is a priority. Keeping this in mind and needing to stay conscious of finances, the hospital enlisted Johnson Controls to help power their mission.

As a one-point company that takes on the responsibilities of design, building, operating and maintaining systems, Johnson Controls worked with project stakeholders to discuss the hospital’s objectives. Understanding customers’ unique needs helps to align infrastructure upgrades at the start of a project, to ensure goals are met. As the hospital was particularly interested in how pressurization and temperature could drive not only patient comfort but also energy savings, a plan was set in place to retrofit campus infrastructure to achieve consistency, reliability, and standardization.

Achieving objectives with advanced technologies

Looking to improve energy efficiency by 20 percent and enhance the patient and staff experience while reducing associated costs, the hospital worked with Johnson Controls to implement central plant optimization and install updated chillers and a building automation system (BAS). Metasys BAS was able to leverage network sensors to monitor temperature, humidity, CO2 levels and occupancy with a single device, resulting in:

• Operational savings through extended building management capabilities and enhanced productivity
• Energy savings through coordinated control, precise data and peak equipment performance
• IT and platform security through best-practice processes
• Faster troubleshooting and response through advanced diagnostics
• Greater occupant comfort, security and satisfaction

This integrated systems approach will help the hospital not only ensure comfortable environments and reliable systems for patient care, but also reduce energy and operational costs, allowing funds to be allocated into additional upgrades, medical supplies and patient and staff resources.

Learn more about how Johnson Controls can support your hospital’s mission with infrastructure upgrades and integration here.