In April of 2020, CFC was contracted by BayCare Health System and Robins & Morton to install a Bi-Directional Antenna (BDA) system at St. Antony’s Hospital. The work was scheduled to finish in conjunction with their new $152M Patient Tower grand opening.
Like most projects we had a unique set of obstacles to overcome. Do to permitting, material shortages and COVID 19 restrictions we were not able to start this project until approximately 1 year later. During that time, we brought on a new project manager, Andrew Boisclair, who was assigned to oversee the project.
A BDA installation of this size, occurring in both new and existing buildings, faced several obstacles. The requirements for the job were to install a system that not only would enhance the 700-800MHz frequency for first responders but to also enhance the 400MHz frequency for BayCare’s radio system. During this time the hospital had strict COVID 19 policies in place that our team had to comply with. We pulled over 12,500’ of armored ½ coax cable above the drop ceilings, installed 5 booster panels and over 80 Ultra Broadband antennas. All the work done in the existing part of the Hospital required us to use an ICRA cart and to provide extra care when working in occupied areas.
When we first powered up our panels and started testing for signal strength, we found that over 95% of the system had zero issues. We were able to pass the final inspection with the City of St. Petersburg, Motorola Solutions and Pinellas County’s Radio and Technology Division in time for the new Patient Tower grand opening.
This project highlights CFC’s commitment to delivering results for our customers. We are proud to have worked with BayCare and Robins & Morton to deliver this important life safety system.
