Health Care Campus

The project: Hurricane Katrina devastated the New Orleans VA Hospital so the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System (SLVHCS) chose to rebuild on a nearby site.

The goal: The new hospital needed to meet VA resiliency standards by being able to operate for a period of five days without connecting to city utilities.

Design highlights: IMEG provided plumbing and medical gas engineering design services for the entire project through completion of design development, as well as construction document design and construction period services for the administration, transitional living, research, central energy plant, and parking structures.

Systems designed included an innovative independent loop for domestic water that redirects flow in case of a blockage, and sanitary sewer, domestic water, and process tanks capable of supporting the hospital’s population for nearly a week. A 280,000-gallon domestic water storage tank is located under the mission critical central energy plant and includes specialized UV treatment before distribution. A 280,000-gallon sanitary storage tank is located adjacent to a city lift station and features a unique reuse of cooling tower process water for tank wash down.

The hospital and research facility project was fast-tracked to expedite construction of critical infrastructure, and an integrated design process was implemented by the VA as a means of facilitating close partnership and coordination among all members of the design and construction team.

The outcome: The hospital meets the VA resiliency standards and should another natural disaster strike, patients, staff, and visitors will not go without medical equipment, water, or other hospital safety features.