While the past three years have seen tremendous progress on the Renew Sinai journey, the last few months have required the team to quickly adapt to changes implemented as a result of the pandemic.
“Every major construction project means planning for the unexpected, but I don’t think we could have planned for the impact of a pandemic when we started Phase 3A three years ago,” advised Darnell Williams, Senior Director, Phase 3A Capital Development.
Yet despite the unexpected, thanks to collaboration between the redevelopment project office, the care teams and our project partners, 2020 has been a year of noteworthy transformation.
Glimpsing back
Highlights from the past year include the completion of several phases of Renew Sinai’s key areas of transformation.
The hospital saw changes to the temporary elective outpatient surgical services to enable work on the new centralized surgical area, and the expansion and redesign of the Schwartz/Reisman Emergency Department east driveway. On the 11th floor, Pathology Laboratory Medicine was part of the construction, and transition, of multiple laboratories.
Tanya McDonald, Director of Operational Readiness, noted how extensive feedback and recommendations gleaned from Mount Sinai physicians, staff, patients and their families influenced the design and renovation of several of the hospital’s areas and facilities. And, the positive response some of these newly-renovated areas have already garnered.
“The re-design of the Emergency Department east driveway, for example, is very exciting. Our patients and our people have commented that it’s very modern, very bright, and easier to navigate. But ultimately, the renovated driveway allows us to bring in patients more safely, and expand our capacity to serve our community. It provides a very accurate glimpse of what’s planned for the future of the Emergency Department, and for many more Renew Sinai Phase 3A project areas,” she says.
Propelling forward
With no signs of slowing down, work is underway to construct the Emergency Department West Driveway, we continue building our new Surgical Services, and the Pathology Department is looking forward to moving into its new permanent, modern spaces by end of year.
Expansive renovations to the Medical Devices Reprocessing Department (MDRD) forge ahead, and include the implementation of state-of-the-art instrument tracking management software. Elevator modernization continues to help us transport patients, care teams and equipment to where it needs to go. And recently, Food Services employees celebrated the move into their new temporary decant kitchen, while anticipating moving into their fully-functional temporary kitchen in September.
From sharing new decant spaces to working through the vertical impacts of construction, we thank all our people for their unwavering in their support of Phase 3A redevelopment projects. Their immeasurable commitment to the evolution of Sinai Health is remarkable and without it, we would not have gotten so far, so quickly.
We look forward to sharing future successes, as we continue to transform Mount Sinai from the inside out by the end of 2022.
Note: Photos taken before the COVID-19 pandemic do not reflect the protocols now in place across Sinai Health.
