The largest American clinic abroad
Health | The USA is building the largest American clinic abroad at the Ramstein Military Base.
Rhine Ordnance Barracks Medical Center Replacement (ROB-MC), new US clinic in Ramstein-Weilerbach
Where cranes and excavators obscure the view today, doctors will soon be operating.
A mega project
On a 47-hectare construction site, up to 1500 employees are on site and up to 15 cranes ensure the flow of materials.
Both the US and German requirements had to be met in order to obtain the building and operating permit.
It will be a clinic of superlatives: more than 4,000 rooms, including 120 examination rooms, 9 operating theaters, GMP and safety laboratories with a usable area of more than 90,000 square meters, are being built on a floor area of 600 x 300 meters.
The costs
The arms of mighty construction cranes are still turning at lofty heights in the west of the Palatinate. In order to erect the up to 70-metre tall steel giants near Weilerbach, an air traffic permit was required. “We are located directly in the flight path of Ramstein US Air Base,” says Matthias Göbel from the Federal Construction Office. “The cranes are visible as obstacles on the base's radar.”
The USA is also the client of the clinic: the United States is investing almost one billion euros in the largest American hospital abroad at a total cost of around 1.1 billion euros. This can also be seen in the planned façade: elaborately curved, it is intended to symbolize a giant waving US flag - as a piece of home for US soldiers and their families abroad.
Healthcare for Americans based on the concept of Healing Architecture
The hospital next to the US base in Ramstein is not a reaction to the global crisis, but a long-planned replacement for a clinic near Landstuhl from 1953. It is not only intended for wounded US soldiers from war zones, but also to provide full care for thousands of Americans in Germany.
In the interior design, emphasis was placed on the use of light, acoustics and color design according to the principle of healing architecture - this is intended to support the healing process. This standard was also applied to the spacious green areas, which are designed to create experiences of nature and improve regeneration.
German requirements must be met
The hospital must meet German requirements, but the operator is the USA - where different rules apply in some cases. “That sounds banal, but it has far-reaching consequences for planning and execution,” emphasizes Bachem. For example, it concerns the question of whether patients are wheeled into an operating room head first or feet first.
HT Group's scope of services
The large-scale project is also forward-looking in terms of planning and organization. With the BIM planning method, a digital twin was created that digitally maps all project and planning steps and also provides comprehensive information about all processes during subsequent operation.
HT Group is realizing the operating area, the hospital pharmacy according to GMP requirements and the biosafety laboratory according to BSL-3. As an internationally operating company, the different country guidelines can be fulfilled. With HT Group's high-quality modular concept for expansion solutions, the requirements and planned work processes are also implemented safely in Ramstein.
The OR-Area
9 operating theaters with the integrated IT solution HT Control are being built in the operating area. The HT Control touch monitor solution serves as the primary interface for medical staff and offers easy access to important information and intuitive control and monitoring of the operating environment, as well as monitoring of technical data.
The rooms are equipped in a modular room system with powder-coated stainless steel surfaces and feature hygienic laminar air flow (LAF) ventilation ceilings, water-guided wall heating, integrated radiation protection and laser protection equipment.
GMP laboratory for the manufacture of pharmaceuticals
In the hospital pharmacy, individualized medicines are prepared for each patient. This must take place in a particle-free, hygienic environment. The GMP laboratory is planned and built with a sealed construction and special ventilation and measuring technology. Access is via personnel airlocks, which are equipped with door control systems. Material pass boxes are used for the safe transfer of products, materials or samples. These clean room airlocks were developed by HT Group in accordance with the requirements of the GMP guidelines. There are also different country-specific requirements here, which HT Group maps in the GMP airlock product range.
BSL-3 biosafety laboratory
In a laboratory with safety level BSL (Bio Safety Level), highly infectious pathogens or substances that can cause serious illnesses and pose a risk of spreading to the population are examined. The laboratory itself is a shielded, gas-tight environment (containment). All entrances and exits for personnel, material or samples are shielded and only accessible via strictly controlled access systems and security gates. All technical media and the air supply must be fed in and out via filter systems. The HT Group specializes in laboratory facilities for high safety laboratories in the highest BSL risk groups and also advises, plans and builds these turnkey facilities right up to handover to the client.
