St. Charles Health System Upgrades Electrical System with Minimal Disruptions

Rosendin completed a two-year project to upgrade the electrical infrastructure at St. Charles Health System facility in Bend, Oregon. Tradesmen replaced aging equipment that was at risk of failure and relocated the existing electric services for the St. Charles Heart and Lung Center wing to enable future expansion. Despite logistical and resource challenges, the project was completed on schedule and under budget with no injuries. 

“This project was equally challenging as it was rewarding. Our team took great pride in knowing that all the work and extra effort put in to overcome the challenges we faced would ultimately result in the bettering of our community,” says Dan Ruffoni, senior project manager of Rosendin “A great deal of coordination went into determining the timeframe to changeover the power supply and our success on this project would not have been possible without the great partnership and collaborative efforts from both the St. Charles and Skanska teams.” 

The St. Charles Health System facility was built in 1974, and replacement parts were no longer available for the primary and emergency switchboards that served the main tower of the facility. Working with the hospital’s building maintenance team, contractors installed two new services to a new 3,000A switchboard to serve the normal power and a new 1,600A switchboard along with a 1,000A ATS for the emergency power while the hospital remained operational. 

“This upgrade provides added stability and reliability to our building systems and sets the Bend Campus up for years to come,” says Christa Papke, program manager – Clinical and Hospital Operations with St. Charles Health Systems. “It is always difficult to interrupt services in an occupied building. In a hospital which runs around the clock, 365 days a year, interruptions must be coordinated and minimized. Rosendin and Skanska supported our hospital operational teams and looked for creative opportunities to minimize disruptions and keep our patients first.” 

The hospital provides critical services to the local community, and planning was critical to ensure emergency care could be provided while power was switched to the new system. This impacted the general power and lighting, life safety loads, and loads that impacted the emergency, imaging, and operating room suites. To reduce the impact on staff and patients, construction teams worked overnight and on weekends to cut power across 19 separate loads of the hospital to re-feed electricity from the new services.