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Tight Construction Deadlines, No Problem

Contractors cut two months from their construction schedule at Reading Hospital by installing noraplan® eco with nora® nTx. The pre-applied, solvent-free adhesive backing minimized prep work and eliminated drying protocols in the 476,000-square-foot addition that includes patient rooms, surgical suites, procedure rooms and recovery areas.

Three years ago, Reading Hospital in West Reading, PA, embarked on a $354 million expansion project that would add 476,000 square feet to the 147-year-old hospital. The goal was to replace and relocate operating rooms across four buildings and provide 150 new private patient rooms. Today, Seventh Avenue Tower, as the new nine-story addition is called, welcomes patients and visitors to a facility that features privacy, flexibility and the latest technology available to healthcare professionals and their patients.

“nora nTx was very important to us from a schedule and cost standpoint because it did not require a moisture mitigation system to be installed prior to the floor going down, which represents a savings in not only dollars, but also in time,” says Jeff Hutwelker, project executive with LF Driscoll Co., LLC, the Bala Cynwyd, PA-based company that provided construction management. Hutwelker goes on to say the selection of noraplan eco with nora nTx offered two important advantages from a construction standpoint. The floor significantly reduced installation time. “We believe that the time saved with the application of the nora nTx floor covering was approximately two months in our construction schedule.”

Other individuals involved in the project point to additional advantages nora® flooring offers. According to David Major, director of facilities and construction at Reading Health System, “Maintenance of the product is greatly enhanced in the fact that we do not have to un-wax or wax the floors…The care and maintenance of the product has potentially been the largest, greatest effect with regards to selecting noraplan eco with nora nTx.”

Tim Cole, director of environmental services for Reading Health Systems, agrees, “It’s a lower maintenance product, requiring less labor and materials…It offers as much as 20 to 30 percent in labor savings related to the care and maintenance of the floor.” It also enables the hospital to improve patient throughput by quickly turning over patient rooms. Meanwhile, the floor covering’s dense, durable surface inhibits the growth of bacteria and other harmful organisms, contributing to an environment that fosters healing.

Cole also points to the positive impact nora flooring has upon throughput, the ability to move patients through the hospital: “With the nora flooring, we are able to turn over patient rooms very quickly—probably in half the time it would normally take to do a floor that we have to clean and wax.” And, he appreciates the floor’s low-gloss finish: “Historically, flooring and floor surfaces were real shiny and glossy. What we’ve come to find is patients that make up the older population have some difficulty with walking and getting around a facility when they see a lot of shiny floors. It’s sometimes disorienting.”

Patient safety is front and center for Marie Keim, director of epidemiology, infection control and prevention at Reading Health System. “From an infection prevention perspective, I think flooring is very important in its durability,” she said. “The fact that this floor is very solid and dense provides an extra barrier for us, and it gives Environmental Services a floor that can be cleaned easily. The surfaces are smooth; we don’t need to be concerned about residual water, bacteria and other items going into cracks and crevices and harboring any sort of bacteria or organisms.”

In addition to saving money on construction and maintenance, hospital officials also appreciate the floor’s stain resistance and the environmental benefit that comes from using less caustic chemicals and cleaners than are required by other traditional floor coverings.

Tight Construction Deadlines, No Problem

Details

  • West Reading, PA 19611, USA
  • nora systems GmbH