The first prefabricated operating room in the world with fully automated disinfection technology opened recently at the University of Rochester Medicine Orthopedics Surgery Center in Henrietta, N.Y. The facility, developed in a former Sears store, features a system designed by Synergy Med, called Clean Cube, that had never been applied to an operating space before.
The components of the Clean Cube operating room were custom premanufactured and then shipped to the site to be assembled. The system was installed in a few weeks. It is composed of modular glass walls that are easier to clean than drywall or stainless steel, and hermetically sealed doors. All mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems are incorporated into the walls and ceiling. Air handling systems tailored for medical use and automated disinfection systems create a sterile field of air around the patient during surgery.
Development of the Clean Cube system was motivated by a 1 in 25 rate of hospital-acquired infections. The technology is billed as delivering “near-perfect disinfection” to the operating room.
The opening of the Orthopedic Surgery Center completes phase 2 of the 350,000 sf University of Rochester Orthopedic & Physical Performance Center. The delivery of the next phase, a four-story rehab and sports performance center that will include a grand courtyard and sports rehab services, is on track for completion in fall 2023.
“The University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) will be a defining healthcare project for the country,” says Scott Hansche, principal with SLAM, architect of record for the project. “From a former Sears department store to a world-leading surgery center, we are addressing healthcare equity gaps with quality design and innovation,” Hansche says.
Project team:
Owner and/or developer: Wilmorite
Design architect: Perkins&Will's New York studio
Architect of record: The S/L/A/M Collaborative
Local Associate Architect: Dwyer Architectural
MEP/IT Engineer : ME Engineering
Structural Engineer: Jensen BRV
General contractor/construction manager: Le Chase
Civil Engineer and Landscape Architect: Bergmann Associates
Related Stories
Healthcare Facilities | Apr 24, 2017
Treating the whole person: Designing modern mental health facilities
Mental health issues no longer carry the stigma that they once did. Awareness campaigns and new research have helped bring our understanding of the brain—and how to design for its heath—into the 21st century.
Sponsored | Glass and Glazing | Apr 14, 2017
Azuria glass from Vitro provides hospital with the desired pop of color
Located in Wilmington, Delaware, Nemours/duPont hospital has undergone a series of expansions since it was founded in the 1940s.
Healthcare Facilities | Apr 14, 2017
Nature as therapy
A famed rehab center is reconfigured to make room for more outdoor gardens, parks, and open space.
Healthcare Facilities | Apr 13, 2017
Investors and developers are still avid for medical office buildings
A new CBRE survey finds that equity set aside for purchases continues to outshoot the availability of in-demand supply.
Healthcare Facilities | Apr 13, 2017
The rise of human performance facilities
A new medical facility in Chicago focuses on sustaining its customers’ human performance.
Healthcare Facilities | Apr 11, 2017
Today’s community centers offer glimpses of the healthy living centers of tomorrow
Creating healthier populations through local community health centers.
Healthcare Facilities | Apr 2, 2017
Comfort and durability were central to the design and expansion of a homeless clinic in Houston
For this adaptive reuse of an old union hall, the Building Team made the best of tight quarters.
Healthcare Facilities | Mar 31, 2017
The cost of activating a new facility
Understanding the costs specifically related to activation is one of the keys to successfully occupying the new space you’ve worked so hard to create.
Sponsored | Healthcare Facilities | Mar 29, 2017
Using Better Light for Better Healthcare
Proper lighting can improve staff productivity, patient healing, and the use of space in healthcare facilities
Healthcare Facilities | Mar 29, 2017
Obamacare to Republicare: Making sense of the chaos in healthcare
With a long road of political and financial uncertainty ahead for the healthcare sector, what does this mean for the nonresidential construction industry’s third-largest sector?