A hospital recommission project in Indiana is proving that Total Door Systems can withstand the test of time. Inspectors found that 40-year-old Total Doors were still completely functional when they assessed the North Clark Community Hospital in Charlestown, Ind. In a rare move, the hospital is being put back into service in August after a nine-year layoff to meet the needs of a growing local population.
The hospital was one of the first projects for Total Door when it was built in 1976. In fact, engineers noticed that one of the fire labels on a door was #003, meaning it was among the earliest projects the company ever completed. They found that the hospital used 400 Total Doors for every single passageway, staircase and entrance in the entire structure and these doors are still completely intact.
Randy Heller, a Total Door distributor for almost 30 years and project engineer for Modern Door, is working to bring 85 of the hospital’s 400 doors into compliance with modern building, life safety, and A.D.A. (Americans with Disabilities Act) codes. He said the doors were in great shape and only needed minor modifications, such as modern labels and a review of their design specifications, to meet today’s standards.
North Clark Community Hospital has quite a history in the Charlestown area. It provided medical care for the entire area until new medical facilities made it obsolete in 2008. But explosive local population growth caused the hospital to be recommissioned this year. So it must undergo a complete inspection to meet all existing building rules and regulations before the grand reopening planned for this year.
