Murray Calloway County Hospital Cancer Center
Murray, KY
The scope of this project by Marcum Engineering was to tie into the existing hospital campus with a new structure to house the addition of a state-of-the-art cancer center which required fire protection, plumbing, HVAC, electrical, low voltage system, and lighting design for the 17,700 square feet addition and renovation for the new Cancer Center at Murray Calloway County Hospital North Tower. The structural system for the two primary additions included steel moment frames, cold-formed metal stud walls with strap bracing, and steel bar joists. LED light fixtures and controls were selected based on patient sensitivities and owner functionality requirements, including the coordination of modern lighting with the interior finishes to create a new welcome area at the North Tower. Marcum Engineering designed all gravity and lateral force resisting elements as well as their connections and foundations.
A new concrete vault was also installed, and the vault’s design is fit to house a linear accelerator per physicists’ radiation shielding requirements and recommendations: a concrete roof deck, deep beams, baffling for HVAC openings and ductwork, and auger-cast pile foundations to limit deflections from seismic events on the sensitive equipment. In this concrete vault, an existing CT simulator was relocated, and a new linear accelerator was installed. The linear accelerator vault features an above ceiling lead-lined walls to protect from any radiation from leaving the room. This required careful coordination of all MEP design elements during design and construction. To protect the operation of the Linear Accelerator, a dedicated air-cooled chiller and a redundant domestic cold water backup system for the process cooling loop was implemented. Later in the construction process, the owner added the Varian Identify System for both systems, requiring collaboration amongst the design team and construction team to install this system.
Detailed phasing was implemented during the design phase to limit shutdowns during construction of the existing fire protection system, domestic water system, medical gas system, sanitary piping, storm piping, air handling system, and power infrastructure. A dedicated electrical room and IT Room was created in the smoke compartment associated with the project to assist with phasing.
