North Central Bronx Hospital Reorganizes to Meet Demands of Pandemic with Help from Lutron

EIN Lutron vive ny 400

Sept 15, 2020

When the North Central Bronx Hospital in NY needed to quickly reorganize several floors to take care of an influx of new patients, Lutron’s Vive Wireless was the ideal solution.

“They needed to fill 5 floors in 18 days,” said Keith Ready, New York Lighting Manager for electrical distributor Turtle & Hughes. “Lutron was my first call.”

The Challenge — Build Out Five Floors in Less than 3 Weeks

As the recent coronavirus pandemic bore down on New York City, time was of the essence.  The North Central Bronx Hospital needed to completely reorganize several floors quickly to prepare for taking care of many new patients.

The Solution:

“Vive was perfect,” says Ready. “As a wireless solution, it was easy to design, install, and program, and there was plenty of stock on hand. We got it approved and installed — that’s installation and commissioning — within six days.”

Adds specifier Danielle Ford, LEED AP BD+C, with engineering firm Syska Hennessy Group, “I was on the meeting with the client and Lutron one week, and the next week I went out for my weekly site visit and it was already installed. It was pretty fantastic.”

Wireless control is still relatively new in hospitals given the prevalence of RF-generating technology such as MRI machines. The Vive solution uses patented Clear Connect wireless technology, which operates in an uncongested radio frequency band. The result is ultra-reliable communication, and no interference with other devices.

Ford observes that Lutron engineers were able to demonstrate the Vive system’s reliability, history of success, and 10-year battery life. Not only is the system performance able to meet the hospital’s immediate needs, but Vive now gives the North Central Bronx facility even greater flexibility and personal control to ensure a system that is able to change and adapt over time.

The Results:

The COVID floors are open spaces with patient areas currently divided by curtains. Vive wireless remotes allowed installation of lighting controls on the back wall of each patient area. “In the future, the floor can be easily reconfigured to accommodate patient or exam rooms, or other space needs, with no rewiring,” says Cathy Lambe, Executive Vice President, Controls Division for Lutron’s NY/NJ Rep Agent, Thea Enterprises, Inc.

Ready says that the North Central Bronx project has become a model for future installations. New York City Health + Hospitals, a large U.S. public health care system, plans to use Vive in several other projects, she says.

“In New York, many health systems and public hospitals are recognizing the significant benefits of integrating a Lutron wireless system into time-sensitive change-outs,” he says.

In addition, FEMA was involved in the hospital project, and that’s helped Lutron become “somewhat of a basis for design for FEMA,” he adds.

The cooperation between parties really made a difference. “Teamwork on this project was what made it such a success. Everyone came together quickly and cooperatively, recognizing the importance and urgency of these deadlines,” says Ford.

Ready offers high praise for the people involved including Syska Hennessy and Thea & Schoen. And he emphasizes that Lutron played a central role in making everything work.

“They’re the ones that set the project details in motion, and we recognize the tremendous value of our biggest contractors looking at Lutron as one of the best manufacturers in terms of service and support,” he says.  “Lutron really stepped up and made sure we had what we needed to serve our community and our patients.”

Source

Related Articles


Latest Articles

  • Maximizing Excel: Practical Use Cases for Preconstruction

    Maximizing Excel: Practical Use Cases for Preconstruction

    November 8, 2024 By Melvin Newman Excel is a powerful and flexible tool that can enhance efficiency in electrical construction estimating.  Spreadsheets, like those in Excel, consist of a grid of “cells” where each cell can hold various types of data. Originating from mainframe computers in the 1960s and later developed for Apple computers in… Read More…

  • The Non-Residential Sector Declines in All Three Components Despite Sustained Industrial Permit Level

    The Non-Residential Sector Declines in All Three Components Despite Sustained Industrial Permit Level

    November 4, 2024 The total value of building permits in Canada decreased by $858.1 million (-7.0%) to $11.5 billion in August, following a strong July during which construction intentions rose sharply (+20.8%). The residential and non-residential sectors contributed to the decrease in August. On a constant dollar basis (2017=100), the total value of building permits decreased 7.6% in… Read More…

  • A Slight Decrease in Residential Building Construction for August

    A Slight Decrease in Residential Building Construction for August

    November 4, 2024 Investment in building construction edged up 0.2% to $21.0 billion in August, after a 1.6% decrease in July. The residential sector edged down (-0.1%) to $14.6 billion, while the non-residential sector was up 1.0% to $6.4 billion. Year over year, investment in building construction grew 7.2% in August. On a constant dollar basis (2017=100), investment in building construction was… Read More…

  • When a Familiar Door Closes

    When a Familiar Door Closes

    November 4, 2024 By Keith Sones, seasoned utility industry executive Most of the articles I’ve written have been based on personal experiences, many of them occurring decades ago, which eventually translate into helpful life lessons. The years allow the events to marinate in a savoury stew of time and reflection, clarity never coming immediately, or even… Read More…


Changing Scene

  • Ontario Streamlining Pathways for Veterans into Skilled Trades

    Ontario Streamlining Pathways for Veterans into Skilled Trades

    November 8, 2024 The Ontario government is making it easier for Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members, their spouses and veterans to start careers in the skilled trades. The province is also investing $2.4 million through the Skills Development Fund (SDF) to provide free training for CAF members and veterans in tech and cybersecurity careers. These initiatives… Read More…

  • Electric Avenue Partners with Rexel Atlantic to Expand EV Charging Solutions Across the Region

    Electric Avenue Partners with Rexel Atlantic to Expand EV Charging Solutions Across the Region

    November 8, 2024 Electric Avenue Manufacturing is pleased to announce a new distribution partnership with Rexel Atlantic. This strategic alliance will bring Electric Avenue’s advanced EV charging solutions to a broader audience, delivering convenience and quality to residential, commercial, and industrial sectors throughout the Atlantic region. Through this collaboration, Rexel Atlantic will offer Electric Avenue’s full… Read More…

  • BJ Take Rebrands as BJ Take Lighting

    November 8, 2024 BJ Take is an acronym chosen by the company’s founders, so they would not lose focus of why they were starting their company. The name stands for the Buma familt name and Ed and MaryAnn Buma’s five children. Now in its second-generation of family ownership, BJ Take has rebranded to BJ Take… Read More…

  • Government of Canada Invests $10.45M to Accelerate Residential Construction in Quebec

    Government of Canada Invests $10.45M to Accelerate Residential Construction in Quebec

    November 8, 2024 To better meet the evolving needs of all regions across the country, the Government of Canada yesterday launched the Regional Homebuilding Innovation Initiative (RHII). Delivered by Canada’s regional development agencies (RDAs), the RHII supports manufacturers in the residential construction sector in order to accelerate innovation in this industry and transform how homes will be built in the future. The federal government… Read More…