VVA, LLC, one of the leading independent project management firms with high profile clients such as AXA Financial, CUNY, Ropes & Gray and Newscorp, is working as the project manager for the $160 million renovation of New York University Hospitals Center in midtown Manhattan. The multi-phase project includes renovations and expansions to the Intensive Care Units, Bone Marrow Transplant Units and Post Surgery and Neurology Step Down units, amongst others. In addition to these renovations, VVA will assist in scheduling, budgeting and the logistical planning of the overall project, which includes renovation work on several other departments. NYU has obtained Certificate of Needs approvals from the Department of Health and is currently in construction on many of the projects "With the completion of the Palliative Care suite in October, the tentative completion of the stroke step-down units in mid-December, and the successful JACHO Inspection (Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations) under our belts, we proceed confidently with a greater appreciation of what it takes to get the job done in an active hospital," said Dana Panzarino, managing director of VVA and project manager for NYUHC. The overall project, otherwise known as the "Immediate Hospital Facility Plan" is based on NYU Medical Center's desire to address immediate needs over the next three years, and serves as a bridge towards a new replacement facility in the future. The plan focuses on critical departments in the hospital with the aim to alleviate capacity constraints and to increase patient throughput and market share. The key departmental areas in the plan are the Intensive Care Units, the Operating Suite and an Ambulatory Cardiac Center. Other projects in the plan include an Ambulatory Surgery Center and system wide infrastructure improvements. The existing Intensive Care Unit on Tisch 15 East has not been significantly upgraded since its original installation 45 years ago. While innovative at the time of its design, the unit has not kept up with the technological changes as critical care medicine has evolved. The ICU is being completely renovated and doubling its current footprint on the 15th floor of Tisch Hospital. A two-phase process is enabling the ICU to remain in operation during construction. As a part of this scope of work, infrastructure upgrades are underway to provide code compliant HVAC, power, and medical gas systems. In order to expand the ICU into Tisch 15 West, a series of phasing moves are necessary to relocate existing units. "We're enormously pleased with VVA's ability to quickly absorb the details of a series of complex projects and to assume a proactive leadership role," said Debra Berger, VP of Facilities Management for NYU Hospital Center. "We have many constituencies in our organization and VVA has managed to keep us all on track, focused and moving forward effectively."