BUILDING FOR A BETTER FUTURE

EVERY TIME I review CHES’s e-mail newsletter, there’s at least one story about a hospital development that’s just been announced, has shovels in the ground, is nearing completion or has officially celebrated its grand opening. Ideally, we’d cover each and every project in the society’s quarterly journal; however, there are so many these days that it’s an impossible feat. Instead, a select few are chosen and highlighted in each issue. Those in the pages of this edition are part of the feature series, which builds on the theme of this year’s CHES National conference, Rejuvenating Healthcare Infrastructure. They include the Burnaby Hospital redevelopment, as seen on the cover, and replacement of Victoria General Hospital’s electrical distribution equipment with a new, remotely located electrical energy centre. Rounding out the feature series, we look at Build Nova Scotia’s equity, diversity and inclusion program. While not a project per se, this initiative was launched to ensure a minimum of 10 per cent of workers on healthcare construction sites in Cape Breton Regional Municipality represent the region’s diverse groups and communities.

Outside the feature series, the primary focuses of this issue are innovation and technology and security and life safety. In the first section, A Vision for the Future delves into how smart healthcare technology can help improve operational results and patient outcomes, while Under Observation looks at the benefits of using wireless, real-time indoor air quality monitoring in a case study. Next, A Unified Approach to Security explores ways in which the advent of open, unified physical security solutions are helping healthcare facilities create a secure, positive experience for patients and staff as challenges and requirements continue to evolve. To close, Monitoring the Experience addresses how surveillance technology and equipment can be used beyond traditional security.

If interested in seeing a specific healthcare project featured or you’d like to contribute an article to the publication, please contact me.

Clare Tattersall claret@mediaedge.ca