by Eliza Baron
At UConn Health in Farmington, the Central Sterile Supply department plays a critical role in patient safety, supporting surgical services through the decontamination, sterilization, and distribution of instruments and medical devices. When the nearly 50-year-old department within the Connecticut Tower required modernization, UConn Health undertook a 4,000sf renovation to upgrade the space while maintaining safe hospital operations.
For O&G Industries’ Healthcare Group, the project centered on understanding the client’s clinical priorities and protecting them throughout construction. The renovation updated the decontamination and clean processing areas, added a new endoscope processing suite, and improved staff support spaces, but some of the most important work happened behind the walls, ceilings, and finished rooms.
A major focus was the replacement and integration of the air handling system serving the renovated department. Maintaining proper temperature, humidity, and airflow is essential in a sterile processing environment, and the new air handling unit (AHU) was critical to supporting those conditions. Installing it, however, was anything but straightforward. With limited access to the congested subbasement, the team determined the best approach was to crane the AHU over the building and lower it through a below-grade exterior access point before moving it into position. From there, new ductwork had to be routed up to the Central Sterile suite through existing hospital infrastructure, with scaffolding installed and sequenced in tiers to support the work.
The renovated Central Sterile Supply department at UConn Health features modern sterilization equipment and updated infrastructure to support safe, efficient surgical instrument processing.
Project Manager Matt Edwards and Superintendent Eric Ayers worked closely with UConn Health facilities staff, department leadership, and trade partners to plan the installation, coordinate access, and resolve issues as they emerged. In a building of this age, existing conditions often required the team to rethink the path forward while maintaining code compliance and minimizing impacts to adjacent clinical areas.
The supporting infrastructure was equally important. The team added booster pumps to maintain the water pressure required for new washers and sterilizers, installed a water purification skid to support reverse osmosis requirements, and tied temperature controls into the building management system so environmental conditions could be monitored continuously. When concerns were raised about water pressure, the team worked with the department to test the system under full demand, running equipment simultaneously to confirm performance before turnover.
The renovated decontamination area includes updated sinks, equipment, and safety systems designed to support compliant processing of surgical instruments and medical devices.
The project also required careful execution within an active healthcare environment. Located below the NICU, demolition and overhead work demanded close coordination around noise and vibration. Weekly Owner, Architect, Contractor (OAC) meetings, two-week look-ahead schedules, and daily field communication gave hospital stakeholders visibility into upcoming activities, shutdowns, and tie-ins. Infection Control Risk Assessment (ICRA) and Interim Life Safety Measures (ILSM) protocols, including hardwall containment, negative air, and daily compliance checks, remained in place throughout the work.
The completed renovation provides UConn Health with a more reliable, efficient, and compliant sterile processing environment. For O&G, the project reflects the value of pairing technical problem-solving with a client-focused process defined by listening closely, planning carefully, and staying committed to getting the details right in a healthcare setting where the work behind the scenes directly supports patient care.
Eliza Baron is marketing & communications manager at O&G Industries, Inc.
