Milwaukee VA Medical Center
Working behind the scenes to keep hospital running
Runner Keith Golke resembles an icicle while jogging, an arctic blast descended on the Midwest causing temps to plummet with temperatures reaching minus 60 with the wind chill in parts of Wisconsin. Photo by AP / Star Tribune / David Joles
It’s bitterly cold as the wind whips into patients as they walk toward the entrance of the Milwaukee VA Medical Center. Relief of warm air embraces them as they cross the threshold into the hospital, never fully realizing who is to thank for keeping the warm air circulating.
Facility Management keeps this hospital running. They work behind the scenes to ensure there are no malfunctions to prevent the hospital from operating. If there is an occurrence, like the boilers shutting down, the highly skilled staffs of mechanics and operators fix the problem without anyone being the wiser.
Temperatures dropped below freezing the week of Jan. 6, dipping to almost 60 below zero with the wind chill. It’s the job of Facility Management to ensure the cold stays on the outside.
“It’s extremely important to keep the boilers running during cold weather,” said Adam Kreger, utilities supervisor at the Milwaukee VA Medical Center. "They are what make the hospital run.”
The boiler plant keeps three boilers running at all times, leaving two as standby. It’s not what you would expect walking into the boiler plant. The expectation is a dingy, damp, dirty building with workers frantically running around spinning dials. In reality, the plant is extremely clean as you hear the constant roar of the massive boilers creating steam in the background. The boilers look like oversized furnaces, with computer screens giving the readings the operators need to know to ensure the boilers are working properly.
“Not what you’d expect when walking into a boiler plant,” said Pete Swanson, lead boiler plant mechanic.
Patients and employees came close to realizing how important the boilers are to the hospital not too long ago. The hospital, and other buildings on campus, runs on gas. But whenever there is an expected influx of gas use in the area, We Energies calls on companies who can run on alternative fuel to cut-off some of their gas use. This occurred on Jan. 6 and 7.
“We get a reduced rate on gas because we can run on alternative fuel,” said Swanson. “When asked by We Energies we switch to burning oil.
“We have enough oil to run the boilers for roughly 12 to 14 days.”
The oil pressure fluctuated and caused a flame failure in one boiler.
“It was a domino effect. One boiler went down and then the next until they were all out,” said Swanson.
It took the boiler operators and mechanics less than 45 minutes to reignite the boilers and get them back to working levels of steam output. The flame inside the boiler can be seen through a small portal, it looks like a jet engine firing at full throttle. Everything in the boiler plant is computerized so reigniting the boilers was as simple as pushing a button. It could’ve been a lot worse.
“If those boilers stop working for more than two hours we’d have to start looking at evacuating the hospital,” said Kreger. “The boilers create steam which is essential to the hospital on a variety of levels.
“Steam is used to humidify the air and sterilize equipment, and provide heat for some of the buildings.”
Evacuation plans are in place in case of emergencies, but Swanson wasn’t worried.
“We’d have to be closer to the 90-minute mark for me to even think about evacuation,” said Swanson with confidence.
The air patients and employees breathe must be sterilized as well. On top of every building is a piece of equipment called “air handlers.” They force air through the hospital. Heated coils inside them cause steam to create humidity inside the hospital. The air in the hospital must be recirculated a minimum of every 24 to 48 hours depending on the department. The air handlers are controlled in Graphics, otherwise known as the control room.
“It’s the heart of the hospital,” said Kreger. “It’s manned 24 hours a day, and the entire hospital is basically controlled from that one room.”
There is a minimum of one operator on duty at all times to make sure the boilers are working and running properly. During the day a mechanic is on duty to fix any issue. There are some cases when a mechanic is required 24 hours a day.
“During the times we are running on oil a mechanic is required to be on-site at all times,” said Kreger.
