Baptist Health, a prominent nonprofit health system, emphasizes patient health and safety in its facilities across northeast Florida and southeast Georgia. Through a longtime strategic partnership with Sciens, Baptist has successfully completed numerous new construction and renovation projects, including a critical update to the fire alarm system in its main hospital. This project highlights the seamless collaboration, trust, and innovation between Baptist Health and Sciens, resulting in:
- Successful execution of hundreds of projects, including critical safety upgrades
- A 60+ year partner with Sciens (formerly W.W. Gay Fire & Integrated Systems)
- Continuous improvements and innovation in fire safety for Baptist Health facilities
About Baptist Health
Baptist Health operates seven hospitals, a cancer center, emergency departments, and over 200 patient care access points, including 50 primary care offices across northeast Florida and southeast Georgia. Committed to serving the community, Baptist focuses on expanding and renovating its facilities to meet the growing healthcare needs.
Challenges
Hospitals and healthcare facilities serve a high-risk population and face unique life safety challenges. Baptist Health’s primary challenge is managing many construction projects, ranging from simple renovations to building new hospitals, while meeting the requirements of day-to-day operations and keeping patients and staff safe. This requires ensuring quality construction on budget and timelines. It also involves maintaining high safety standards, code compliance, and emergency readiness. A trusted partner who understands infection control measures is critical to navigating these complexities, especially when system upgrades require access to sensitive areas like ICU floors.
We spoke with Kimberly Hansen, Baptist Health’s System Director of Construction. Hansen is a licensed and certified Professional Engineer, Certified General Contractor, and Healthcare Contractor certified by the American Society for Healthcare Engineering (ASHE).
“Sciens is an important partner for our life safety systems,” says Hansen. “There is a lot to be said for having a long-time partner like Sciens, who always answers your calls and can quickly get you what you need.”
Partnership Outcomes
Baptist Health has entrusted Sciens with highly sensitive projects, and Sciens brings a deep understanding of healthcare facilities’ unique needs. Sciens is one of Baptist’s go-to vendors, offering a comprehensive suite of services from budgeting to execution while focusing on quality, safety, and regulatory compliance.
Projects the team has been selected for include upgrading the fire alarm system in the main hospital, helping construct temporary care facilities for COVID-19, and helping with longer-term planning and execution to minimize risk and accommodate budgetary requirements.
“The team at Sciens is customer-focused, which is evident in their responsiveness and work quality.” – Kimberly Hansen, Baptist Health’s System Director of Construction
Most recently, Sciens began updating the entire fire alarm system in Baptist’s main hospital. This work requires the team to upgrade the patient floors unit-by-unit, either working out of Infection Control Risk Assessment (ICRA) booths or setting up containment to replace devices. “Sciens’ service technicians take great care, as they operate in areas where patients were immune compromised,” according to Hansen.
“Sciens understands that projects like this require the utmost level of caution, safety, pre-planning, and quality due to the risk in healthcare facilities. It requires a lot of trust in a partner.” – Kimberly Hansen, Baptist Health’s System Director of Construction
Trust Beyond the Business
In addition to working with Baptist’s facilities, Hansen turned to Sciens for help when her daughter’s school moved to a new campus requiring renovations. Because the facilities were historic, they were not built with modern fire protection.
Knowing the quality and care taken by the Sciens team, they were the first call Hansen made to help ensure that the safety of the students was a priority.
“We had to run fire protection to the school chapel, which almost made me cry because we had these beautiful arched beams and stained glass,” said Hansen. “Someone from the Sciens team found a way to hide the fire protection behind the columns and beams, so if you’re sitting in a chapel facing forward, you don’t see it. Then, paint matched and painted the pipe that color so it blended in.”
Outcomes
The long-standing business relationship between Baptist Health and Sciens starts with trust. “When Baptist is in the early stages of determining the feasibility of a fire and life safety project and ensuring it happens safely, on time, and within budget, Sciens is my first call,” says Hansen.
The partnership has resulted in the successful completion of many projects that enhance patient safety. Sciens’ responsiveness, quality of work, and understanding of Baptist Health’s mission and needs have contributed to tight alignment and mutual respect.
Beyond the business relationship, Sciens and Baptist have joined forces for fundraisers, such as the Bass Tournament, a fundraiser for Baptist Children’s Hospital.
“There’s a lot of community involvement, which is important to us because we’re looking to take care of the community.” – Kimberly Hansen, Baptist Health’s System Director of Construction
Baptist’s long history with Sciens underscores the importance of partnership, trust, and expertise in achieving healthcare infrastructure goals.