VA Hospital BIM Program

One of the largest healthcare systems in the world, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) manages over 5,000 buildings and 150 million square feet of space. To effectively manage healthcare environments and prevent Legionella and other water-borne pathogens, domestic water systems must be surveyed and modeled to be viewed independently of other plumbing. This process allows for identifying and managing domestic water systems for patient safety during facility management operations.

Salas O’Brien has been working with VHA engineering staff to create a digital repository of all VHA mission-critical facility infrastructure schematics. Facility operations require records and data (floor plans, locations of building systems, and identification of infrastructure components) to reduce Legionella disease risk. Therefore, the VHA has established policies and directives to ensure optimal care and safety. The repository created by our team provides crucial information for maintaining safe operations of domestic water systems in facilities and planning future facility system upgrades.