The phrase, “necessity is the mother of invention”, often ascribed to Plato, is seeing plenty of practical application in recent months. One example is the expedited installation of the Alinity m by Abbott Molecular, one of only 3 in the country and the first of its kind in California, for COVID-19 testing.
At Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, where The Stahl Companies is managing several ongoing construction projects, a 2,200 lb Alinity m was delivered on July 27th. Designed to automate the steps for nucleic acid testing, this piece of equipment very recently received FDA EUA (Emergency Use Authorization) to be used by authorized laboratories for SARS-CoV-2 (or as most of us know it, COVID-19) testing. There are only two other Alinity m machines, one in Texas and one in Washington that are at roughly the same stage of installation as the unit in California.
This fully integrated and automated molecular diagnostic analyzer will increase testing capabilities by supplementing the current outsourced third-party vendors. The Alinity m can process 300 samples in an 8-hour period, nearly 1,000 per day. PSJMC will act as the testing hub for Providence medical offices, clinics, and hospitals in the valley.
This type of major medical equipment installation requires OSHPD approval due to anchorage, power with a connected UPS, and prep space requirements. The lengthy process to obtain approvals typically requires several months. Fortunately, the hospital had in place an approved Lab Analyzer Replacement project designated for the same space, and a permit had been acquired just before the onset of the Coronavirus. However, the process of interfacing with IT, contractors, the hospital, and OSHPD for the installation of a specialized piece of medical equipment is a challenging and lengthy process. To expedite this process, our PM team quickly stepped up to assist the hospital in evaluating the changes needed for seismic, electrical, and telecom and negotiated the requirements with OSHPD to include this additional equipment in the already permitted project. We then shepherded this fast-track project through OSHPD keeping within the targeted timelines.
After a week of staff training, this innovative new equipment is planned to be live and providing very timely testing services to the valley by mid-August!
