Page 20 - Healthcare News Jan/Feb 2022

MEDICAL CONSTRUCTION & REAL ESTATE
CONT’D
Whether COVID-19 had existed or not, Martinelli knew she would have to replace the entire HVAC system in her building. Sweitzer and Mark Edwards from M&E Mechanical Contractors, the HVAC subcontractor for the project, installed a state-of-the- art negative-air system for all the operatories at Shire
“By purchasing this
unit, it saved us from ripping out the ceiling and replacing the entire ventilation system.
That would have been absolutely disruptive.”
City Endo. Sweitzer explained it as a system that captures pathogens in the air which are immediately pulled out of the room by an exhaust fan before they can spread. In the past, operatories often had exhaust vents in the ceiling. The standard now is to locate these lower on the wall.
“Dentists and hygienists work in people’s mouths, the main path of respiration,” he said. “With lower vents, any pathogens are directed down to the floor instead of into the provider’s face.”
Martinelli appreciated that she had the opportuni- ty to install a new HVAC system to deal with COVID and any other airborne maladies. At the same time, she saw her colleagues struggle to find answers on how to retrofit their offices to mitigate risks and improve air quality.
During the pandemic, Dr. Sarah Marti-
nelli says she welcomed the opportunity to upgrade her HVAC system as part of her renovation.
Because Sweitzer and Edwards had been so helpful to her, Martinelli coordinated a Zoom call with the contractors and the Berkshire Dental Society, so dentists could get answers on how to manage air ven- tilation in their practices.
“Craig and Mark were great resources to the entire
dental community, who had plenty of questions on how to keep their patients and staff safe,” she said.
Pat Sweitzer was on the Zoom call and credited Martinelli for organiz- ing it. “The dentists had done lots
of research, and we had done lots
of research,” Pat said. “It was a time when everyone was learning how to contain COVID through different HVAC systems.”
Dr. Anne Barnes, who runs Berk- shire Dental Arts, is one of the den- tists who chose to retrofit her office with an air purifier that turns over the air in the entire room in three minutes. She said it does an excellent job, and while it’s a large piece of equipment in the corner of the room, it beats the alternative.
“By purchasing this unit, it saved us from ripping out the ceiling and replacing the entire ventilation system,” she said. “That would have been absolutely disruptive.”
In 2018, Barnes established Berk-
shire Dental Arts after assuming Dr.
Neil Pyser’s practice located on South Street in Pitts- field. The building was constructed in the 1960s by four dentists, and while it has changed hands several times over the years, the interior space was not much different from when it was first designed.
“What was here just didn’t work for me and wasn’t planned out for today’s dentistry,” Barnes said. As
“
a captain in the U.S. Army Dental Corps, she had access to all the latest equipment, so while she knew what she wanted, the challenge was how to fit it in a predefined space.
At Martinelli’s recommendation, Barnes asked Sweitzer for help on how to make better use of the defined footprint of the building.
“Craig helped me troubleshoot and think about ways to convert the space we have into something more efficient,” she said. Her practice consists of four operatories, two used by Barnes, with hygienists working in the other two rooms.
She and her husband, Charles, who is also the practice manager, had a mental picture of how the operatories should look, but admitted they didn’t have the expertise on how to bring in new equipment without sacrificing elbow room.
“I wanted to make each room functional and com- fortable to work in,” Barnes said. “Craig knows how much space you need around the chair and where
to place all the plumbing and electrical hookups we use.”
She enjoys her redesigned office because she now has the equipment to do 90% of her lab work in
Dr. Anne Barnes says the 1960s-era space she took over in 2018 “just didn’t work” for today’s cutting-edge dentistry.
house instead of sending it to an outside firm. For example, if a patient wanted to change the color of
a crown, they would normally have to make an ap- pointment two weeks after their visit while the crown goes to a lab. Because Barnes now has a ceramic oven in her office, the patient needs to wait just 15 minutes for the adjustment.
“A ceramic oven is a small piece of equipment,”
In addition to knowing all the building codes that pertain to dental-treatment rooms, he also knows how to navigate
the whole permitting process.”
she said, “but if you don’t have the counter space for it, you’re out of luck.”
Martinelli was also pleased with her office renova- tion, noting that she appreciated Sweitzer’s strong knowledge of dental-building infrastructure.
“In addition to knowing all the building codes that pertain to dental-treatment rooms, he also knows how to navigate the whole permitting process,” she said. “And he knew what needed to be done to check all the boxes at the end of the job.”
Tooth of the Matter
The knowledge the Sweitzers acquired to build dental offices has allowed his company to expand into other highly technical projects. From photovol- taic solar work to building clean rooms for high-tech companies, their business keeps expanding. Even with the new areas of focus, though, Craig still enjoys dental-office construction.
“Dentistry keeps changing, and there are always technical parts to it,” he said. “Besides, it’s more fun than building someone a closet.” v
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