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Calgary Health Region Hemodialysis Centres

Hemodialysis is a critical process that removes contaminants from the bloodstream of patients whose kidneys are not functioning at a satisfactory level. The Calgary Health Region has established several dialysis centres outside of the hospital setting. These centres are located in shopping mall settings in Calgary to make these centres more accessible to the public.

The demand for hemodialysis has created a need for rapid expansion. However, these centres still must run 6 days per week, and up to 16 hours per day just to keep up. There is only 1 day per week to do disruptive maintenance.

The chemicals used in the dialysis equipment cleaning process was damaging the floor in the soiled utility room of two of their centres. The first centre was chosen as a test to see as to what could be done. These are small 20 sq m (200 sq ft) rooms that were creating a significant headache.

Cleaning staff were spending 20 minutes per day removing wheel marks from the floor of one of the utility rooms. The floor was being re-finished with a high performance floor finish on a monthly basis. The costs to achieve the required standard of hygiene required management intervention.

A professional engineer was asked to provide several options to either prolong or replace the sheet vinyl flooring. The options of replacing the floor with new sheet vinyl was not considered, as the existing sheet vinyl floor lasted less than 2 years and was unable to be cleaned to a hygienic level. The use of an epoxy or urethane top-coat would have only provided 1 or 2 years of additional life to the existing sheet vinyl floor. Removal of the sheet vinyl floor was considered to be the best option, and a chemically-resistant floor coating system was deemed necessary. The future solution was:

Epoxy and polyurethane coatings could be installed in that prescribed 30 hour time period. However, due to the long cure time of epoxies and polyurethanes (typically 48 hrs post-completion) and residual noxious odour issues, these products were discounted. Also, such epoxy / polyurethane systems only have a hygienic life expectancy of a maximum of 5 years.

The Acrylicon Flake system was considered. The Acrylicon system resistance table was compared with the MSDS of all chemicals that could potentially be found within the utility room. Acrylicon could handle the bleach, 100% oxalic acid as well as the sodium bicarbonate deposition. The financial analysis showed that the new floor would pay itself off in about 5 years, and based on Acrylicon experience, would probably last about 15+ years. A decision was made to install the Acrylicon Flake system in February, 2006.

The floor was installed in 18.5 hours. Less than 2 hours after completion, there was no detectable smell. The next morning, as patients arrived, there was no smell detected at all by staff or patients. The nurses loved the esthetic qualities of the floor, with requests as to when we could start on their kitchens at their homes! It was a success.

Within a month, Acrylicon Alberta received a call from the cleaning contractor for the hospital saying that our 5 year analysis for financial payback was too conservative. They felt that the floor would easily pay itself off in 3 years. What used to take 20 minutes on hands and knees to scrub clean, was now being done in 1.5 to 2 minutes with a mop and water. The reduction in cleaning work effort is attributed to the zero porosity of Acrylicon Industrial Flooring.

Based on the 6 months experience at the first hemodialysis centre, a second, identical hemodialysis soiled linen utility room was completed in September, 2006.

Acrylicon Industrial Flooring is one of the few flooring products in the world you can do a financial benefits analysis. Acrylicon Alberta truly believes that a 5 year payout can be expected in replacing existing flooring systems with Acrylicon Industrial Flooring. Ask your Acrylicon Approved Installer for a financial analysis presentation for your floor replacement business case.

Completed: Sept 2006