ST. LOUIS, Mo. — McGrath & Associates, Inc. recently began construction on a $1.7 million outpatient bone marrow transplant center at Saint Louis University (SLU) Hospital. Located within the Saint Louis University Cancer Center in the West Pavilion of the hospital’s main campus, the 9,900-square-foot facility will be the first comprehensive outpatient bone marrow transplant center in the region. The center will be complete and fully operational in the fall of 2012. Fox Architects is the architect.
The SLU Hospital Bone Marrow Transplant Center, led by Friedrich G. Schuening, M.D. of the Saint Louis University Cancer Center, will increase patient access to a quality bone marrow transplant program. Bone marrow transplants are used to restore stem cells following disease, chemotherapy or radiation, and will treat patients with diseases such as leukemia, myeloma and certain inherited blood diseases.
The bone marrow center is being built-out in existing hospital space with a low floor-to-deck height and structural concrete beams. These challenges require close coordination among mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire protection contractors. One engineering solution to the low ceiling height was to design a VRF (variable refrigerant flow) HVAC system, which allows for lower profile ductwork.
Occupied patient care areas are located on the floor above the center and hospital staff administration offices are below. McGrath is coordinating the construction activities with those departments, and implementing strict contamination control measures to ensure a safe work environment and clean air quality for staff and patients in the area.
