Healthcare

Bench-to-Bedside Research

Their work takes the form of bench-to-bedside research, accessible care for all, and new health delivery methods. It’s the Harvey | Harvey-Cleary responsibility to build the spaces that enable such insights and innovations to occur. Together with our clients, it’s our duty to ensure community wellness.

Stringent Planning

Whether it’s a rural healthcare clinic or a translational research facility, Harvey’s approach to these projects is the same – stringent planning. Clients notice this differentiator from the initial project meetings, sometimes years before the first shovel pierces the ground. Harvey’s client-centric preconstruction process digs into the details of the design with particular emphasis on the mechanical/electrical/plumbing (MEP) system. 

MEP System Needs

In a research or healthcare setting, the MEP system is the heartbeat of the facility. It must constantly cycle the critical care equipment and the systems needed to maintain a safe and sterile indoor environment. One distinct benefit Harvey provides clients is our ability to analyze MEP needs as early as schematic design, model the resulting operational requirements, and ensure constructability.

Ensuring Compliance

In the preconstruction phase, Harvey knows the right questions to ask to avoid delays or cost discrepancies during construction. Healthcare facilities are subject to more stringent codes and accreditation processing. Together with our clients we navigate the options to ensure compliance. Every client has varying internal processes, some more rigid than others. We factor this into our project plan accordingly to ensure timely decision-making. We know budgets are under constant scrutiny; we’re here to maximize them. Many clients opt to use owner-furnished/contractor installed (OFCI) items. These can amount to significant cost savings when coordinated appropriately; you can be certain we’ll get down to the literal nuts and bolts to make sure there are no surprises in the field.

Safety is Our Concern

During construction, safety is our foremost concern. Harvey has one of the best safety records in the industry, proven in our low incident rates. Healthcare projects present additional, unique challenges. Working in and near occupied care facilities multiplies safety concerns immeasurably when accounting for the patient population and extended visitor population. Maintaining a continuous clinical-grade internal environment remains imperative. Adequate air changes must still occur, system redundancies must be in place, contamination possibilities must be eliminated. We address these increased safety issues as part of the preconstruction process, with increased project manager audits, and additional site inspections. We also know from previous experience to expect the unexpected. Then what? We stay flexible and make adjustments as necessary.

Stringent safety extends to our subcontracting process too. Even when choosing subs from an owner pre-qualified list, we still apply a screening process specific to the robust safety requirements of working on an occupied healthcare site. Because we know the majority of subs in the cities where we work, we request specific staff based on our knowledge of their healthcare expertise. We do not leave safety to chance; we understand the work our healthcare and medical research clients are undertaking has zero tolerance for accidents.