“What makes Sodexo such a good partner is that they are on the same journey we are. Like us, they are committed to delivering a uniquely satisfying patient and family experience.” Sodexo Facility Solutions Case Study How the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children avoided a perfect storm of unplanned capital expenditures. Mark Lorenz Associate Administrator, The Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children Wowing patients and their families is how The A.I. duPont Hospital for Children has been able to gain market share in what is arguably the most competitive pediatric market in the country. “We excel clinically” says Kempinski, “but what truly distinguishes us is the exceptional experience we deliver to patients and families—and Sodexo is an important part of that equation.” “We are serving growing numbers of patients and families and must deliver our services effectively and efficiently,” states Kempinski. “We will have to largely self-fund our future expansion. That means we need to keep this facility running smoothly so we can generate the necessary operating margins and resulting cashflow. That’s where our Infrastructure Plan comes in.” “People ask me, isn’t it risky to turn over so many services to a single contractor,” reflects Kempinski. “I tell them it’s a big advantage when you have the type of collaborative partnership we have with Sodexo.” Hershey Hospital uses Sodexo Infrastructure Plan to chart clear course for capital improvements PENNSYLVANIA The Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children Philadelphia Wilmington NEW JERSEY MARYLAND Baltimore DELAWARE Washington, DC The Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children is located on a 300-acre campus just outside Wilmington, DE. While its primary focus is Delaware, southeastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey, the hospital serves thousands of children from across the country and around the world. the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children Challenge With much of its aging infrastructure approaching the twilight of its intended usefulness, The Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children faced potentially catastrophic demands on its capital budget. How could it afford to deal with all those needs—and still go forward with its expansion plans? Solution The hospital turned to Sodexo for a detailed assessment of its infrastructure. The resulting 5-year capital plan provided a prioritized blueprint for capital expenditures, identifying what required immediate attention and what could be deferred. Wilmington, DE • 200 licensed pediatric in-patient beds • Affiliated with Thomas Jefferson University • Part of Nemours, one of the nation’s largest health systems dedicated to improving the health of children. Sodexo Facility Solutions division 86 Hopmeadow Street Simsbury, CT, 06089-9693 1-800-432-6663 www.sodexousa.com Outcome With plan in hand, hospital management got the needed capital and immediately tapped Sodexo to execute the most pressing upgrades. Since then, Sodexo has handled over $14 million in renewal projects—all on time and on budget. T he Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children’s main hospital was built in the early 1980’s, which meant that all the major infrastructure systems—boilers, chillers, etc.—were now approaching the twilight of their operational life. “We were facing a potential scenario of having to upgrade much of our existing plant all at once,” says the hospital’s COO, Paul Kempinski, FACHE. “At the same time we had embarked on an expansion of our NICU and CICU, with an even bigger master facility plan expansion on the drawing board. It looked like the perfect storm as far as our capital budget was concerned.” Knowing it needed help, the hospital turned to a well-respected local engineering firm. Unfortunately, the firm’s solutions did not fit the hospital’s time and cost parameters. Notably, the firm’s design for providing emergency power to the new NICU and CICU would have cost more than twice the hospital’s $2.5 million budget. Worse yet, the generators would not have arrived until two months after the NICU was scheduled to open. “Sodexo was already managing our plant maintenance and operations, so I asked them what they could do to help us out,” says Mark Lorenz, the duPont hospital senior executive who had arrived a few months before to oversee the hospital’s facilities. “Within six weeks Sodexo had redesigned the project and acquired the generators. I was very impressed.” “At the same time we had a lot of other potential projects to deal with,” continues Lorenz. “We needed to identify, prioritize and budget these projects—and then implement them on a timely basis.” “We needed a plan,” says Lorenz, “and that’s exactly what we got from Sodexo.” “For the first time in recent memory, we had a thoughtful and current assessment of our infrastructure,” says COO Kempinski. “Before this plan, we looked at our infrastructure needs in snap shot fashion, so there was always an annual argument about where to spend our capital dollars.” Paul D. Kempinski, FACHE Nemours consists of the Nemours Foundation, The Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children and the Nemours Children’s Clinic, a network of physician practices located throughout Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, as well as Jacksonville, Orlando and Pensacola, Florida. Chief Operating Officer, The Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children the total replacement of the system until planned renovations could take place. Sodexo’s flexible approach to the problem also allowed the hospital to pay for the project over two fiscal years. With the emergency power situation in hand, the hospital’s next most pressing need was a critical chiller replacement—a project the hospital immediately turned over to Sodexo. Subsequent projects have included boiler replacements and upgrades, a third emergency generator, upgraded generator and boiler controls and four air handler refurbishments. To date, Sodexo has completed seven projects totaling over$14 million—on time and on budget. The teamwork between Sodexo’s on-site Director of Facility Services and Sodexo’s Infrastructure Renewal Group has been a big part of the success at duPont hospital. Sodexo is responsible for the daily maintenance and operations of approximately 2 million square feet of space. The knowledge gained through these daily activities gives the Sodexo team a unique window into the inner workings of the hospital’s critical infrastructure systems. Sodexo now manages construction work at duPont as well—whether done by its own internal construction crew or by an outside contractor. “It made sense to turn the job over to Sodexo based on their record of bringing projects in on-time and onbudget,” says Lorenz. The Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children delivers an exceptional patient and family experience with outstanding clinical care. Having an Infrastructure Plan in place to prevent disruptions and catastrophic events is critical to the hospital’s continued success. Sodexo looked deep within duPont’s physical plant, assessing heating, cooling, power, fire protection, electrical and basic physical structures. The resulting 5-year plan gave the hospital a clear picture of its infrastructure needs, including what needed to be addressed immediately and what could be deferred for the time being. “Sodexo provided us with a blueprint for our capital expenditures linked to our strategic goals.” “Sodexo provided us with a blueprint for our capital expenditures linked to our strategic goals.” adds Kempinski. “The plan helped greatly in accessing the necessary capital from our parent organization, Nemours.” Sodexo also manages housekeeping, laundry and patient and staff dining at duPont. All told, Sodexo employees over 350 support staff at the hospital. “Sodexo may pay their salaries, but these employees are part of our family,” says COO Kempinski. “I’ll bet most of our own people don’t realize these services are run by a contractor.” In some cases, Sodexo has been able to stretch the life of existing systems— such as the OR air delivery system. The price tag for replacing this system was over $4 million. Based on a unique flow analysis, Sodexo engineers were able to reconfigure the system for far less than $4 million, enabling the hospital to defer “What makes Sodexo such a good partner is that they are on the same journey we are,” says Lorenz. “Like us, they are committed to delivering a uniquely satisfying patient and family experience.” Executing the Infrastructure Renewal Plan Infrastructure Projects Handled by Sodexo 1 Redesigned emergency generation system and installed two new generators and switch gear. 2 Installed new 1,250 ton chiller. 3 Installed new 30,000 lb/hr boiler. 4 Re-engineered and reconfigured four OR air handling units. 5 Installed second 30,000 lb/hr boiler, and upgraded control system for all boilers. 6 Designed and installed third emergency generator for added capacity. 7 Refurbished four air handling units. Upgraded emergency power plant ATS sequencing system.