Page 19 - Healthcare News Jan/Feb 2022

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MEDICAL CONSTRUCTION & REAL ESTATE CONT’D
Craig and Pat Sweitzer say the dental practice owner is closely involved in the design process from the start.
left, and do they want cuspidors or just suction?” A dental-equipment supplier also enters the
picture early on to work in partnership with the construction crew and the dentist.
“We do all the underground, behind-the-wall, and under-floor infrastructure work to make sure it will accommodate the specialized equipment the doctor ordered,” Sweitzer said.
For Shire City Endo, part of the early work involved removing a drive-up window left over from the banking days. When the crew was drilling into the foundation to run plumbing and electrical lines, they ran into another legacy of the building’s former use.
Foundation floors in banks are usually much thicker than those in regular commercial buildings to deter would-be thieves from tunneling in from un- derneath. After much more effort, the crew was able to install the necessary lines in the right places.
“I wasn’t worried before about someone tunneling into my practice,” Martinelli said jokingly. “And I sleep well at night knowing I’m protected from that now.”
The thick floors didn’t slow down the project too much, but as Pat Sweitzer noted, coordinating sched- ules with the medical supplier is an important part
of the process. “The whole project is orchestrated
for our crews to finish their work just as the medical equipment and the installers are available.”
As a general contractor, Sweitzer Construction is well-acquainted with the difficulties of sticking to schedules during the pandemic, not to mention
recent price increases for raw materials. Lumber is the most notable building material to see wild price increases of up to 250%. Craig said he does not use much lumber, but instead uses steel studs to frame walls in his commercial projects. Still, he noted that steel has begun catching up to lumber in price and di“fficulty to get when it’s needed.
Dental offices fit that bill because dental technology is evolving, and it’s fun to stay
current with it.”
“We order materials long before we need them and then hope they arrive somewhere around the time we are ready to use them,” he explained. “It takes our office staff much more effort to make sure materials get here on time.”
Go with the Flow
When the pandemic first hit, air flow inside build- ings suddenly became an essential consideration, especially in healthcare facilities. Sweitzer and the HVAC subcontractors who work with his company began to study how to design new systems and retro- fit old ones to keep everyone safe.
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