Project "Reason to be proud" told about infectious hospitals creators

The heroes of one of the recent releases of the BST TV channel project “A reason to be proud” was a team of authors who came up with the concept of prefabricated infectious diseases hospitals during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

Literally in a matter of weeks, architect Andrey Starikov, designer Marcel Masallimov, technologist Marina Petrova, chief engineer Artur Rakhmatullin and First Deputy Minister of Health of the region, candidate of medical sciences Azat Rakhmatullin managed to complete a project that usually takes 6-8 months, moreover, with high quality and strict observance of all construction standards and sanitary rules. An equally important task was to reduce the distance covered by doctors on the territory of institutions during a work shift.

The first such hospital was built near Ufa - in the village of Zubovo, then similar facilities appeared in Sterlitamak, Sibay, and Tuymazy. The location was chosen to consider the remoteness of the republic's capital and the number of inhabitants.

The total area of each center is 9 thousand m². Hospital buildings are made of light steel thin-walled structures. Their assembly was carried out without welding, and external and internal partitions are based on sandwich panels coated with metal, thanks to which the surfaces are quickly disinfected. The structure included an adult department for 40 round-the-clock boxes, 10 resuscitation boxes, a reception and diagnostic department, an express laboratory, a pharmacy, an oxygen station, a gas boiler room, a helipad, and much more.

It also provides additional accommodation for 200 beds, and in case of emergency, the buildings will be able to receive 230 patients with 100% oxygen connection. The main difference from conventional hospitals is the isolation of patients from each other due to separate entrances and ventilation.

The highlight of the hospitals is their appearance: 7 one-story buildings are connected to form the state symbol of Bashkiria - the kurai flower.

“Through architectural solutions, we wanted to reduce the stress level of arriving patients, to show that it is in this institution that they will receive the necessary assistance, that all the achievements of medicine are collected here. When this solution was proposed, it was discussed with doctors,” said architect Andrey Starikov.

Over the three years of its existence, more than 45,000 patients have been treated in infectious diseases hospitals. Other regions of Russia adopted the experience of Bashkiria. Moreover, the World Health Organization recognized the project as a success, recommending it as a model for the construction of medical institutions of this kind.

Today, when the COVID-19 pandemic has, fortunately, officially ended, the infectious disease centers of the republic have been converted into ordinary hospitals. This was taken into account by the creators in advance - although the buildings are collapsible, they will last 50 years under guarantee from the manufacturer.

The innovative development was awarded the State Prize of the Republic of Bashkortostan in science and technology. The authors’ team received it from the Head of the region Radiy Khabirov in November 2022, Bashinform News Agency reported earlier.