Sheltering Arms Institute in Short Pump, Virginia is a rehabilitation hospital integrating advanced technology, research, and clinical care. The inpatient facility focuses on caring for those who have survived strokes, spinal cord injuries, or brain injuries, and treats patients needing general rehabilitation or care for neurological diseases and disorders.
Design-Assist Mechanical, Plumbing, and Medical Gas
The newly constructed building took almost two years to plan, design, and build. Southern Air earned the design-assist mechanical and plumbing contracts, which included a large medical gas job. Our engineers and estimators helped with the pre-construction phase to assist with constructability and keep the project under budget.
Our Richmond construction teams were all over the 212,000 square-foot building. We installed the mechanical HVAC systems, controls, five large DX Trane rooftop units, an air handler, a make-up air unit, and more than 400 hot water reheat VAV systems supplied by three boilers in the mechanical room. Plumbing crews put in a siphonic roof drain system and tackled arguably one of the largest medical gas contracts our company has ever seen. Not only did we have to Med-Gas certify additional mechanics, at one point we had every certified Southern Air technician working at Sheltering Arms.
78 Safety Inspections on One Jobsite
The Safety Team stayed engaged, visiting the work site for 78 safety inspections. Sheltering Arms was also the site for three project manager safety audits where managers discussed findings and addressed jobsite concerns with construction team members.
“When I started working for Southern Air, I didn't like what I was doing because most of our work gets covered up in the walls and ceilings, or in mechanical rooms,” says Drew Faulconer, SAI Richmond Construction Manager. “The more I've thought about it, the work we're doing is keeping patients at Sheltering Arms comfortable. We're giving them clean water. They have oxygen through our med gas supplies if they need it. We save lives with these systems, we keep people comfortable at a minimum and it's pretty powerful.”
From Construction Contract to Service Agreement in Months
An advantage Southern Air customers often enjoy is the ease of moving from a major construction project to a preventive maintenance contract covering all their new machinery. The work and connections made by the construction team gave Southern Air's Service and Sales departments a head start on presenting their value. Salesmen Zach Rothrock and Adam Barker met with the customer multiple times early in the project to discuss the maintenance services Southern Air offers.
“Typically, maintenance agreements like this can take years to acquire and we did this in a matter of months because of the teamwork between major mechanical and service and we really appreciate that,” says Jake Huffines, Southern Air's Richmond Service Manager. “Working together with Drew (Faulconer) and his team has been great and I think this has been a huge success for both the construction and service departments.”
Huffines and his crew now care for the equipment keeping Sheltering Arms running efficiently. They change filters, clean coils, change belts, troubleshoot, and otherwise maintain the equipment to keep it operating at full capacity and reaching its maximum service life.
Sheltering Arms is a place where you will continue to spot Southern Air. Supporting front line workers in the medical fields makes for some of the best jobs to walk away from with our heads held high. You can see the range of facilities our teams have built across the region in our commercial portfolio.
Interested in joining a team that takes on projects like this? See our open positions.
Gallery
