St. Clare Hospital

Doctors Are Experts In Medicine, Not HVAC.

St. Clare Hospital and Health Services in Baraboo, WI, has spent more than 40 years providing critical care for a range of patients. The company now owns or manages 20 acute-care hospitals and three nursing homes in four states: Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin and Oklahoma. They are caring, extraordinarily dedicated and smart. Smart enough to know that they are not HVAC experts. To be sure, they optimized performance of the CenTraVac™ high efficiency chiller and Tracer™ Summit control system in their new hospital addition, they turned to Trane Building Services. With Trane’s In-Warranty Support Agreement (IWSA), St. Clare Hospital and Health Services can devote their efforts to patient care and leave the HVAC service to Trane.

Quarterly Check-Ups, Regular Information

Jeff Thompson, Director of Plant Operation at St. Clare Hospital, provided their reasoning. “We elected to go with the Trane In-Warranty Service Agreement because we want to stay on top of the new chiller’s operation and maintenance right from the start. We want to get maximum longevity from this new chiller.” Prolonging the life of a new chiller is a great reason to sign up for Trane’s IWSA, but it’s certainly not the only one. The program also provides quarterly inspections, an oil analysis, a Kestrel View report, and of course, an extended labor and parts warranty. These inspections help establish system performance baselines and energy consumption profiles, and give building owners the knowledge and experience they need to develop strategies for optimal performance from their new chiller. And, most important, they create a smarter customer who knows more about how to get more out of Trane technology.

A Good Hospital Appreciates the Value of a Thorough Examination

During the first quarterly inspection, Ron McFarland, a veteran Trane service technician from Trane’s Madison, WI office, reviewed the performance of St. Clare’s new chiller and suggested a few minor operating adjustments to the chilled water system that will help St. Clare’s optimize performance. McFarland also took an oil sample that will be analyzed at Trane’s industry-recognized chemistry laboratory. For St. Clare’s this will all add up to better performance, and a better understanding of how to get the most from their new chiller. And, according to Jeff Thompson, maybe something more, "If we don’t have cooling for the hospital, our patients and employees suffer and the community loses faith in our ability to maintain our facility." As evidenced by St. Clare’s thoughtful, caring approach to their new chiller, they are certainly earning the faith of the community.