Dewberry has been named a Carolinas Associated General Contractors (CAGC) Pinnacle Partner by Rentenbach Constructors after the construction company received the Pinnacle Award for Best Project Over $5 Million. Dewberry designed the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) systems as part of a major infrastructure improvement project at the High Point Regional Health facility in High Point, North Carolina. With the honor, Dewberry will receive a CAGC Partners in Excellence Award.
In 2007, Dewberry completed a comprehensive facility assessment of the High Point Regional Health facility's primary buildings, including a 748,196-square-foot, 384-bed medical and surgical hospital, 100,150-square-foot cancer center, and 137,640-square-foot cardiac pavilion. The firm assessed the conditions, capacity, code compliance, and remaining lifespan of air handling, plumbing, chilled water, steam, fire alarm, medical gas, emergency power, and normal power systems. The assessment included energy conservation, resilience, and expansion suggestions to improve hospital efficiency, reliability, and performance.
Following the assessment, Dewberry helped provide full power to all operations in the main hospital, emergency department, and cardiac pavilion by designing three new 2,500 kVA emergency generators with a total capacity of 7,500 kVA. The firm consolidated multiple electrical services into a 12.5 kV campus distribution system fed by dual utility connections with automatic transfer switches monitored and managed by a computerized supervised control and data acquisition (SCADA) system. HVAC improvements included three new 1,500-ton high-efficiency chillers with 4,500 tons of total cooling capacity; a primary/secondary/tertiary chilled water pump conversion to a variable primary system; several steam and chilled water distribution upgrades and expansions; as well as new workshops, offices, and storage facilities.
Dewberry has designed and assessed MEP systems for High Point Regional Health since 2001. The firm previously renovated the campus emergency department and intensive care unit; renovated and expanded the operating room, pre-op, and post anesthesia recovery units; prepared conceptual design and cost estimates for a new central energy plant capable of producing 5,000 tons of cooling and 7,000 kW of emergency power; and is currently involved in a phased HVAC system replacement in the patient tower.
The Pinnacle Awards are CAGC's highest honor. Entries are evaluated based on uniqueness, challenges, management, budget, schedule, safety, and performance. Dewberry received the award at the CAGC Annual Convention in Charleston, South Carolina.