November 16, 2007

Clinics, VBK and Tilton: Demolition begins

Although street-level observers may not notice a marked change to the Clinics, Vincent Burnham Kennedy (VBK) and Tilton buildings, demolition of the buildings has begun with the removal of the Clinics Building roof and the dismantling of the two-story rear segment of the VBK Building. This early phase of the buildings' dismantling launches the approximately five-month demolition project.

The three buildings are being taken down in 15 phases to prepare the site for the construction of a new clinical facility, the Building for the Third Century (B3C), which is slated to be completed in 2011 — the hospital's bicentennial. To carefully demolish the Clinics Building roof, work will take place during two shifts, from 6 am to 2 pm and 8 pm to 6 am. To minimize possible impact to regular hospital activities from this process, much of the daytime roof work will be confined to interior roof areas, and edge work and other more hazardous operations will occur during overnight hours.

"We expect minimal or no noise impact on patient care during these times," says Denise Palumbo, RN, MSN, executive director of Radiology and director of Operations for the B3C. "Demolition activities are very closely supervised and conducted in compliance with federal and state standards as well as industry best practices."

Demolition of all three buildings is scheduled to be completed in April 2008. Members of the Thrive B3C Operations Group have coordinated with MGH colleagues and consultants to prevent and minimize possible disturbances to hospital operations. For more information about the demolition, contact Bob Castaldo, director of Safety, at (617) 726-2425; Jim Guiry, senior construction manager, at (617) 724-3580; or Natalie Nguyen, administrative fellow, at (617) 726-4954.