'We put our heads down, did what was needed, made it happen'

Capital Management team delivers projects swiftly during pandemic

Story by Jason Morton

When COVID-19 hit a little over a year ago, bringing closures and disruptions to daily living, time slowed down for many people. But not for Sonny Muselin and most of Alberta Health Services’ (AHS) Capital Management team. Pandemic or not, they had to deliver projects — which would typically take six to 12 months to complete — in weeks and, sometimes, in days.

“I’ve been here for more than 12 years and I never experienced anything like this,” says Sonny Muselin, director, Property Management, North. “We had impossible deadlines to meet, but no one on the team questioned them. They just put their heads down and did whatever they needed to do to make it happen.”

Over the past year, the Capital Management team’s work has proven instrumental in protecting Albertans by creating the infrastructure needed to track and combat COVID. They set up the assessment centres and vaccine clinics and ensure life-saving vaccines are safely stored.

The team does everything one could imagine and then some. Its members find locations, plan staff and patient needs, physically set up and furnish sites with all necessary electrical, technical, clinical and security equipment — and ensure they meet strict Infection Prevention Control (IPC), security and clinical standards.

“Our work is really a team effort,” says Dean Olmstead, chief program officer (acting), Capital Management. “We work very closely with different teams within Capital Management, but also work closely with Contracting, Procurement and Supply Management (CPSM), clinical leads, IPC and Protective Services to make sure everyone’s needs are met.”

For Capital Management the work related to COVID has come in waves. They began to prepare even before the first wave arrived by helping to set up Zone Emergency Operations Centres (ZEOC) in all five AHS zones.

Their second wave of activity — setting up assessment centres — came hours after the first positive COVID test was confirmed in Alberta on March 5, 2020. By March 6, all five ZEOCs were operational, with some assessment centres up and running within 24 hours, on March 7.

“It was amazing to see all the different teams come together to get the assessment clinics ready, and there were a lot of 12-to- 14-hour working days,” says Mara Ghitter, director, Space Management, North Strategic Capital Planning, Real Estate and Space Management.

“Through the years we’ve worked with many of the team members from CPSM, Protective Services or Clinical, but we became very close over the past year as we’ve been spending hours on the phone or on Zoom calls arranging every detail.”

By July 31, 2020, Capital Management and other teams had helped to set up and open more than 70 drop-in and drive-through assessment centres across the province.

“As I have often said, I am never surprised but always amazed how the people in our great organization come together to do what needs to be done when the things get challenging,” adds Tim Holiday, provincial director, Centre of Expertise, Facilities Maintenance and Engineering.

In many cases, they were able to set up swabbing or vaccine clinics at existing AHS sites or facilities. But in some instances, they needed to find new places to lease to meet the need.

Some of the sites that the Capital Management team converted to assessment centres or vaccine clinics include an old bus station, retail spaces, warehouses and even gyms. Transforming these spaces, which weren’t built for clinical purposes, created challenges under tight deadlines.

“Imagine walking into an empty space that’s been vacant for years?” says Robert Silveira, director property management, South Sector.

“In one case, the team had just over two weeks to convert essentially an empty warehouse into a vaccine clinic. That means cleaning the space, creating walls for privacy, setting up computer support, clinical equipment, chairs and beds for patients, parking spaces, Wi-Fi, phones, storage equipment and parking. Basically, everything you can possibly need.”

The latest challenge arose as vaccines began to arrive in Alberta in December. Finding storage brought fresh challenges. Different vaccines need to be stored at different temperatures, and additional precautions became necessary.

“Installing these weren’t like installing your typical freezers and fridges,” says Peter Jarvis, zone director, North Zone, Facilities Maintenance and Engineering.

“That vaccine is more valuable than gold. So the freezers needed to be in secured areas — and had to have the latest state-of-the-art security systems, including regular patrols by Protective Service teams. They also required alarms and backup power to ensure the fridges and freezers stay on to protect the vaccines even if major power sources go down.”

In the first year of the pandemic alone, Capital Management helped set up 96 vaccine and assessment clinics — with more to come — as well as 71 vaccine freezers and fridges throughout Alberta.