Engineering Services Section

The Engineering Services Section is responsible for the enforcement of state and federal rules and regulations relating to physical plant for purposes of state licensure and federal certification of health care facilities. The scope of these responsibilities encompasses both construction of new spaces and modifications to existing spaces. The Section is also responsible for the ongoing Life Safety Code survey program for Medicare and Medicaid certification of those facilities.

Engineering Services receives plans and specifications for 20 to 30 construction projects each month. The annual value of these constructions projects is generally $200 to $250 million. These projects range from construction of a completely new health care facility to remodeling of existing interior spaces. The section also plays a key role in the Moratorium Exception review process.

To find out more about the services provided, or to discuss any new or existing projects, please contact the staff engineers by telephone or in writing:

James Loveland, P.E., Program Manager
Telephone: (651) 201-3710
Email: jim.loveland@state.mn.us

Robert F. Dehler, P.E., Engineer Senior
Telephone: (651) 201-3711
Email: robert.dehler@state.mn.us

Rex Stromquist, P.E., Engineer Senior
Telephone: (651) 201-3713
Email: rex.stromquist@state.mn.us

Benjamin Zwart , P.E., Engineer Senior
Telephone: (651) 201-3715
Email: benjamin.zwart@state.mn.us

Georgann Francisco - Administrative Support
Telephone: (651) 201-4229
Email: georgann.francisco@state.mn.us

 

Engineering Checklists

MDH Nursing Home Checklist - Physical Plant - New Construction  (pdf:138k/5 pages)

Link to the MDH Construction Completion Checklist  (MSWord 2 pages)

 

Waivers

Locked Unit Waiver - To obtain a waiver for a locked unit, go to Information Bulletin 91-1 at http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/fpc/profinfo/ib91_1.htm.

Kitchen Equipment Waiver Cover Letter  (PDF:96K:1 page)

Kitchen Equipment Waiver  (PDF:99K:2 pages)

 

Life Safety Code Documentation Project

 

New Requirement for Review of Plumbing Plans and Specifications

Effective June 1, 2009, plumbing plans for licensed health care facilities regulated by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) must be submitted to the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DOLI) for review. For more information on the plumbing plan review requirements, please visit http://www.dli.mn.gov/CCLD/PDF/pe_healthcare.pdf or call the Plumbing Plan Review and Inspection Unit's general telephone line at (651) 284-5067.

 

Current Presentations

Minnesota Health Care Engineer's Association - May 3, 2012 (pdf: 1.1mb / 60 pages)

Past Presentations

Life Safety Code Potpourri February 2012 (pdf:1.5mb/ 71 pages)

Life Safety Code Potpourri November 2011 (pdf:1.39mb/ 58 pages)

2011 Midwest Consortium (pdf:506k/ 50 pages)

 

Contact Information

For correspondence or submittals using the United States Postal Service, please sent to:

Minnesota Department of Health
Compliance Monitoring Division
Engineering Services Section
P.O. Box 64900
St. Paul, Minnesota 55164-0900


For submittal by courier service, please send to:

Minnesota Department of Health
Compliance Monitoring Division
Engineering Services Section
85 East Seventh Place, Suite 220
St. Paul, Minnesota 55101

For general questions regarding physical plant requirements in health care facilities, please send an email to: health.healthcareengineers@state.mn.us.

Questions regarding specific projects should be addressed to the engineer assigned to the project.

Engineering Services is part of the Minnesota Department of Health, Compliance Monitoring Division.

Updated Wednesday, 03-Apr-2013 14:55:07 CDT