Rush Hospital Requires Zoned Solution

Rush Health Systems
In 1915, Dr. and Mrs. J. H. Rush founded the Rush Infirmary, an 18-bed facility with one operating room. In 1936, medical history was made when their son, Dr. Leslie Rush, performed the first known bone pinning in the U.S. This revolutionary fracture treatment pioneered the development of the “Rush Pin,” which is still used today. Rush Health Systems serves residents in eastern Mississippi and western Alabama with a variety of inpatient, outpatient and community services. In addition to the 215-bed Rush Foundation Hospital, Rush Health Systems operates two critical-access hospitals, one long-term, acute-care hospital, a nursing center, a home-health agency and 27 family medical clinics.

Central Four-pipe Chilled Water System
Connected by over-the-street enclosed walkways, the Rush Health Systems complex in downtown Meridian, Miss. is housed in four major structures totaling 1.2 million square feet. In addition to the hospital itself, there is a six-story professional office building, a five-story ambulatory surgery building and a two-story data center.

“As we have grown and expanded over the years, we’ve always solved our cooling and heating needs by adding onto our central four-pipe chilled water and boiler system,” said Fred Rogers, vice president, chief resource officer and facility manager. “Over the past years, however, we have had increasing patient dissatisfaction with the temperature and comfort factor in our patient rooms.”

Multi-million Dollar Women’s Services Center Renovation
In 2005, Rogers began a multi-million dollar renovation of the third floor women’s services center spanning four wings of the hospital. By summer 2006 he had completed Phase I of this modernization, the neonatal intensive-care unit and nursery.

For the Phase II 14,500-square-foot labor and delivery center, Rogers wanted a new HVAC solution. Looking for the best and brightest answer to the growing chorus of patient complaints, Rogers needed a system to provide individual zones for each room; a system to satisfy one patient who wanted his/her room very warm next door to one who wanted it very cold. Did such a system exist, he wondered?

Looking for answers, Rogers searched online and discovered Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) zoning systems from Mitsubishi Electric Cooling and Heating Solutions, Suwanee, Ga. He learned that the product was distributed by General Supply & Machine Co., Inc., Meridian, Miss. In the past, Alex Weddington, vice president, General Supply & Machine, Co., had provided Mitsubishi Electric’s split-ductless systems for the hospital’s pharmacy and radiology center. Rogers picked up the phone and gave him a call.

Delivering Each Room with its Own Zoned Comfort System
Weddington explained the many benefits the hospital would enjoy from the Mitsubishi Electric R2-Series variable refrigerant flow design and Mitsubishi’s INVERTER-driven compressor technology. Rogers learned that Mitsubishi Electric’s VRF zoning system was the only two-pipe system in the industry delivering simultaneous cooling and heating. The VRF system could deliver personalized, zoned comfort to each room in the renovated women’s services center.

Rogers flew with Weddington to Mitsubishi Electric Cooling and Heating Solutions’ Atlanta headquarters. In a Mitsubishi Electric training class, Rogers learned that the compressor technology and exclusive Branch Circuit (BC) controllers made the system’s two-pipe simultaneous cooling and heating possible. Meridian’s outdoor temperatures fluctuate between 80 to 100 + degrees Fahrenheit with high humidity eight months a year. Fortunately, the VRF zoning system automatically adjusts the motor compressor speed to react dynamically, delivering the exact amount of refrigerant needed to maintain the temperature inside. Rogers concluded that a comfortable interior environment would be maintained, while saving the hospital considerable energy costs.

The Mitsubishi Electric Team at Rush Foundation Hospital
Rogers returned to Meridian and asked Weddington to work closely with the hospital’s engineering firm, Atherton Consulting Engineers, Jackson, Miss. The labor and delivery center renovation design work had already started under the supervision of general contractor Yates Construction, Philadelphia, Miss. When the HVAC blueprint was completed, Yates solicited bids on the Phase II mechanical and electrical work and awarded it to McLain Plumbing & Electrical Service, Inc., Philadelphia, Miss.

This was to be the third Mitsubishi Electric installation for McLain who had recently installed VRF zoning systems in several Louisville, Miss. public schools, as well as the Choctaw Indian Economic Development office, Philadelphia, Miss. A third generation HVAC family, Rush Project Manager Phillip McLain is the grandson of 82-year-old founder, John McLain, who still makes it into the office every day at 5:00 a.m.

Great Training, Installation a ‘Snap’ and Running Perfectly
“The VRF system continues to impress us with Mitsubishi’s INVERTER technology, the advanced system design and its highly-responsive cooling and heating performance,” McLain said. “The Rush installation was a snap. My foreman, John Kinard had excellent Mitsubishi Electric training in Atlanta. He came back very excited and told my granddad about Mitsubishi’s great training program. Kinard and one of our technicians installed all the equipment, piping and wiring in less than two weeks. We had the system factory-started by one of Weddington’s men in mid-January (2007), and it has been running flawlessly.”

Comparing Systems—“Night and Day”
McLain volunteered he had recently installed a competitor’s VRV system and said the experience was like “night and day.” “Not only is the Mitsubishi Electric technology and equipment superior, the competitor uses a three-pipe system from condenser to branch system controller and requires a controller for every air handler, increasing the hardware costs and doubling the installation time,” said McLain.

Wide Variety of Indoor Comfort Solutions for a Hospital
Based on his own positive experience with Mitsubishi Electric’s VRF zoning system, Rogers predicts that hospital administrators and health care providers nationwide will appreciate the system’s design, which provides the quietest possible operation for both indoor and outdoor environments. The indoor units are super quiet, running from 24 decibels at low speed to about 47 decibels at high speed, or about the sound of a whisper.

Rogers was equally impressed with the multiple styles of indoor units from which he could choose. For example, for the 18 labor and delivery rooms, Rogers selected ceilingrecessed cassettes with square grills and four-way deflectors. For the staff break room, he chose the same ceiling-recessed cassettes with one-way airflow. Where additional ceiling space would allow, in the corridors, changing areas and nurse stations, Rogers employed ceiling-concealed ducted units. “These VRF system options helped me build a truly unique whole-building solution that fits the function and comfort needs of each station in the center.”

Doing the Right Thing—the Great Energy Swap-out
Based on what he has seen so far, Rogers’ plan is to employ VRF zoning systems in the final two phases of this major renovation. Phase III is a 6,500-square-foot wing housing the C-Section surgery suites, waiting rooms and doctor’s lounges. Phase IV is a two-wing project housing 46 more patient rooms. Design work is already under way. The grand opening of the new labor and delivery wing was in March 2007.

“I have a very strong instinct that my Mitsubishi Electric investment was the right thing,” Rogers said. “Our patients are going to love the individual room controllers and the amazing quietness of the operation. “The two-pipe system is going to save us money, give me added capacity to my central system, and the variable frequency drive will provide much needed energy efficiency. However, the greatest pleasure is that the system is taking the load off my old chillers which are huge energy hogs. I call this the great energy swap-out!”