NEW YORK--Perkins + Will New York will be hosting an indepth talk on Wed. Feb. 26 from 5:30-8 p.m. at Tafel Hall, Center for Architecture, New York (536 LaGuardia Place), regarding Hurricane Sandy's impact on city healthcare and how the design industry can work to make more resilient hospitals.
Hurricane Sandy was a devastating wake-up call for all involved in the operations, planning, and design of healthcare facilities and hospitals in the city. The storm caused the closing of six hospitals and the emergency evacuation of 6,500 patients from hospitals and nursing homes throughout the city. Ten other hospitals lost primary power and/or other critical building systems due to flooding, yet were able to remain open in compromised conditions. Hospital bed capacity dropped eight percent in the storm’s immediate aftermath. How could this happen?
This program will explore Sandy’s impact on the healthcare system of New York City, focusing on what’s happening now to increase the resilience of our hospitals. Senior facilities executives at NYU Langone Medical Center, Bellevue Medical Center, and Coney Island Hospital – three of the hospitals most affected by the storm – will present case studies on Sandy’s impact, the immediate response, post-storm recovery efforts, and initiatives underway to substantially increase resiliency.
Three of the organizations and agencies that formed task forces to examine what happened and then recommend ways to improve resiliency will also speak: The Mayor’s Office/Director of Resilience about the city’s Special Initiative for Rebuilding and Resiliency [SIRR]; Urban Green Council about its Building Resiliency Task Force; and AIANY about its Post-Sandy Initiative. This new body of knowledge is guiding efforts to guard against the impact of climate change and severe weather events, as well as modifications to building codes.
The event will be moderated by Robin Guenther, FAIA, Principal, Perkins & Will New York. Speakers will be as follows:
Introductions:
Lance Jay Brown, FAIA, President AIANY; Founding Co-Chair, DfRR Committee
Jonathan Miller, AIA, Principal, Atelier NY; Co-Chair, AIANY Health Facilities Committee
Nancy Victor, Director of Business Planning, SUNY-HSCB; Chair, NY Society for Healthcare Planning
Speakers:
NYU Langone Medical Center:
Paul Schwabacher, PE, Senior Vice President, Facilities Management,
Bellevue Hospital Center:
Michael Rawlings, Associate Executive Director, Facilities Management
Coney Island Hospital:
Daniel Collins, PE, Director, Facilities Management
Agency Response:
PlaNYC Post-Sandy Report- “A Stronger, More Resilient New York”:
Daniel Zarillii, PE, Director of Resiliency, Mayor’s Office, City of New York, NYC Special Initiative for Rebuilding and Resiliency
Urban Green Council’s “Building Resiliency Task Force” Report:
Robin Guenther, FAIA, Principal - Perkins & Will, Co-Chair, Critical Buildings Committee
AIANY Post-Sandy Initiative Report- “Building Better, Building Smarter, Opportunities for Design and Development”:
Ray Skorupa. AIA, Principal – MPR, Co-Chair, Critical and Commercial Buildings Committee
The following agencies are serving as co-sponsors: AIANY Design for Risk and Reconstruction Committee (DfRR); AIANY Health Facilities Committee (HFC); New York Society for Healthcare Planning (NYSHP)
