SMRT Media Center: Latest News and Articles

Androscoggin Valley Hospital Plans to Offset Fuel Oil Consumption with New Biomass Plant

Androscoggin Valley Hospital anticipates annual energy savings of $350,000 when its $2.8 million biomass plant comes online this heating season - money, AVH Vice President James Wheeler is quick to point out, that can be used for healthcare instead of purchasing foreign fuel oil. SMRT’s engineers and energy managers worked closely with AVH for more than a year to analyze the hospital’s energy needs and alternate fuel options.  For Wheeler, the choice of biomass was clear.  He cites reducing fuel costs, cutting greenhouse gas emissions and buying fuel locally as deciding factors.  The hospital, which plans to completely offset its fuel oil consumption by burning local wood chips, recently received conditional approval from the Berlin Zoning Board for the proposed plant.

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Westminster School Dedicates Hovey Field

The dedication of Hovey Field at Westminster School in Simsbury, CT brought together alumni, parents and friends to celebrate the 37-year legacy of David “Hov” and Jenks Hovey.  SMRT Director of Site Design Dick Webb attended the festive event and was recognized for his role in designing the $1.8 million synthetic field, which features sloped lawn seating, a customized Westminster crest and four light towers, allowing night play and community events.  Dick’s relationship with Westminster spans 15 years and includes a 400-meter, 6-lane track, James Osborne varsity baseball field, Observatory Hill softball and field hockey complex, and the Sherwin Athletic Center practice fields.

Engineering to Deliver Stringent Sustainability Results

MaineGeneral's Story of Achieving Energy Optimization & Cost Savings was presented at the Fall 2012 New England Healthcare Engineers Society (NEHES) conference. Healthcare facilities directors heard the panel, including SMRT's Kate Everett, PE, detail how sustainability measures selected by the Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) team will realize over $1.2 million annual savings on energy costs and reduce water consumption by more than 13,000,000 gallons.

Long Creek and Mountain View Youth Development Centers Earn High Marks

SMRT congratulates Day One Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service for their achievement in earning a 100% score in a recent American Correctional Association (ACA) audit of Mountain View and Long Creek Youth Development Centers.  The tri-annual national assessment recognized the exceptional work of Day One staff in the areas of substance abuse treatment, education and assessment.  SMRT designed both centers, which focus on education and re-entry programs in a normalized living environment.  Long Creek Youth Development Center is ranked one of the best juvenile facilities in the nation.

SMRT on the Run: Trails to Ale 10k

SMRT - Architects and Engineers - set aside their design work recently to enter four teams in Portland's Trails to Ales 10k. While we can't report on some of the "friendly competition" among our teams, we will report that SMRT team Morton's Movers finished third in the race. The team was named for Dana Morton, a retired member of the firm who lent his "M" to SMRT. Our remaining three teams carried the handles Thompson's Trotters, Rose's Racers and Stevens Sprinters. We'll let you Google the finish results but let's just say our new firm name would be MTRS if we let race results rule. Don't look for any announcements of a name change........

MaineGeneral Medical Center's 'Cancer Survivor Day'

Representatives from SMRT were pleased to join hundreds of cancer survivors, their families and caregivers, and the staff of the Harold Alfond Center for Cancer Care recently to celebrate life. Everyone enjoyed the food, games and activities, health education and screening offered during this 14th annual celebration. SMRT designed and engineered the Harold Alfond Center for Cancer Care with a focus on promoting healing while supporting the emotional and spiritual needs of the patients, their families and staff.

Designing a New Flex Line for GE Healthcare

GE Healthcare has contracted with SMRT to provide engineering and architectural design to accommodate a new flex manufacturing line in New York. SMRT is providing architectural design as well as engineering for structural, tool layout and hook-up, and process mechanical design for piping, bulk chemicals and waste. SMRT’s electrical engineers are designing power supplies and lighting.

GE Healthcare has been a client of SMRT since 2006.  

A Bird’s Eye View of the New MaineGeneral Medical Center

Eighteen months into construction, the new 640,000 square foot MaineGeneral Medical Center is nine months ahead of schedule, thanks to the super efforts of the Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) team.

Anyone who’s been by the site can see the hospital taking shape, prompting people to ask about its final form. We thought you might enjoy this computer animated “fly-around” that provides a bird’s eye view of the new hospital, designed to promote healing.

Enjoy this computer animated “fly-around” that provides a bird’s eye view of the new MGMC hospital

SMRT to Speak on Medical Simulation at ACHE Congress

The American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) 2013 Congress on Healthcare Leadership will be held March 11-14, 2013 in Chicago. “Simulation in Healthcare: Improving Patient Outcomes and Safety While Transforming Quality and Reducing Risk,” will be presented by SMRT healthcare architects, Ellen Belknap and Craig Piper, along with Dr. John Darby, MD.

Medical Simulation Centers are fundamentally altering the education of healthcare professionals, while holding great promise to improve patient care, clinical outcomes and the mitigation of risk. All without touching a single patient.  The benefits of medical simulation centers exceed patient care and risk management. They also promote teamwork through improving real world communications, collaboration and crisis management, resulting in increased operational efficiencies. The most advanced medical simulation centers go beyond training. While medical simulation is primarily about clinical education, savvy healthcare executives are recognizing extensive operational benefits beyond its core purpose.

The American College of Healthcare Executives is an international professional society of more than 40,000 healthcare executives who lead hospitals, healthcare systems and other healthcare organizations. For more information: www.ache.org.

BIM: Revealing the Beauty Behind the Science of Engineering

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder - and SMRT's engineers like nothing better than to design a highly efficient, complex central utility plant. Those of us without a P.E. designation tend to think this conglomeration of HVAC, electrical, plumbing, fire protection and gas distribution systems - among other components - looks like a colorful piece of modern art. But by utilizing Building Information Modeling (BIM) software, SMRT's engineers produce 3D plans that construction teams and facilities engineers use to efficiently build, manage and maintain complex buildings.