Stalco Construction, The LiRo Group and AECOM complete $6.3 million Stony Brook Hospital MRI Suite

General contractor Stalco Construction, construction manager The LiRo Group, and architect/engineer AECOM have completed the new MRI Suite at the Stony Brook University Hospital. The 603-bed hospital is one of the largest academic medical centers on Long Island and one of the only tertiary care hospitals and Level 1 trauma centers in Suffolk County. Stalco president Alan Nahmias said, "The $6.3 million project included installing a Siemens Magnetom Skyra 3T MRI scanner and a Siemens Magnetom Aera Dot 1.5T MRI scanner and construction of two 400 s/f MRI rooms; a centrally-located, 200 s/f control room; a 360 s/f contrast/prep waiting area with three bed bays; and a 150 s/f UPS room." Construction was performed on the fourth floor of a fully operating hospital. The Stalco team coordinated all construction activities, elevator use, and partial utility shutdowns with the hospital's management. "The project called for structural reinforcements that were required due to the weight of the MRI scanners," said Stalco senior project manager George Protheroe. "Stalco installed new steel floor beams connected to the building's structural frame beneath floors of the new MRI rooms. This necessitated relocating utilities suspended underneath ceilings in the laboratory spaces on the third floor, where the new beams were installed." "Delivering the massive MRI scanners into the building was a logistical and technical challenge," said Stalco assistant project manager Amber Gillen. "The crews opened up a 10-ft.-high by 10-ft.-wide section of the outside curtain wall in the vicinity of the new MRI suite. A crane lifted the scanners up to the opening, allowing the team to place the machines directly on the fourth floor." The MRI rooms feature complete magnetic shielding that has been installed in the walls, doors, floor, and ceilings. Stalco installed all plumbing, mechanical, electrical and lighting systems as well as the medical gas lines. All systems and fixtures installed inside MRI rooms, including lights, HVAC ductwork, wiring, and other hardware, were fabricated from non-magnetic materials. The new scanner support infrastructure includes two three-ton Krauss chillers and two 1.5-ton air conditioning units installed on the hospital's roof. The finishes and furnishings include sealed vinyl flooring, wall sconce and recessed ceiling high hat downlight lighting fixtures, and plastic laminate sink vanities and storage cabinets in the MRI rooms; acoustical tile grid ceilings; recessed fluorescent light fixtures; painted gypsum board walls; an automated glass and aluminum door with a motion sensor; and VCT flooring in the control room and the hallway.