Winter is here – Facilities gets Mount Sinai ready for freezing temps

Last week, the weather brought earlier than expected winter-like temperatures and precipitation. For Andrew Blair, Senior Director of Facilities Operations, this meant fast-tracking winter preparation projects at Mount Sinai Hospital. The new initiatives will create an overall safer environment for patients, visitors and our people.

“The care environment starts the moment someone steps out of their car. We want to make everyone’s visit pleasant from the beginning,” he says. “This change will reflect Sinai Health’s values and dedication to excellent service from start to finish.”

Andrew says that harsh conditions last year provided valuable lessons on what changes needed to be made across the hospital. In spring, his team worked to find proactive solutions to major concerns: water damage, reliable door operation, insulation and more.

Andrew and his team are particularly excited to install grated flooring outside each of the hospital’s five main doors. These will prevent people entering the building from slipping on snow and ice.

Other major initiatives include weatherproofing the Hennick Family Wellness Gallery, insulating the main lobby’s exterior walls, and revamping the hospital’s revolving doors.

To help keep the hospital safe and operational for everybody, Andrew encourages people to report any issues immediately to Facilities Operations by calling ext. 5012.

The revolving door renovations started this past Monday. Each door may be out of service for up to one week. Andrew and his team hope to complete winterization initiatives by early 2020. To stay up to date on facilities alerts at Mount Sinai, check out Building Services’ page on the intranet.