The Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) is one of the largest academic medical centers in the Southeast, managing more than 2 million patient visits each year.

With its adult and children’s hospitals consistently ranked as one of U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hospitals, VUMC is the primary resource for specialty and primary care in hundreds of adult and pediatric specialties throughout Tennessee and the mid-South.
That’s why when it came time for VUMC to install new faucets, it needed a product that would help promote a hygiene-friendly handwashing process while standing up to high traffic environments. VUMC also wanted a cutting-edge product that was easy to maintain while also enabling the facilities team to become smarter water managers. Sloan provided the solution.

Multi-functional faucets

Hospitals are a breeding ground for germs and disease, and Sloan’s Optima faucets help to promote proper hygiene with its touch free-application to cut down on cross-contamination. Installed throughout both public restrooms and nurses’ stations, the faucets improve the handwashing process for patients and caregivers alike. With 2 million annual patient visits in addition to on-site medical staff, Sloan’s faucets are subjected to plenty of wear and tear. The Optima faucets are not only durable enough to meet the demands of this high traffic environment, but also deliver VUMC with sustainable water-saving benefits, the manufacturer states.

Maintenance made easy

VUMC specified over 500 Sloan ETF-80 Optima hardwired deck-mounted faucets as the new standard for the entire facility. Sloan’s redesigned faucets feature an underdeck Optima Control Box that reduces the service time needed by VUMC’s facilities team. Additionally, the maintenance staff is also able to remotely monitor each individual faucet through the Sloan Connect app. Enabling the maintenance staff to adjust faucet settings without getting under the sink, the combination of state-of-the-art below-deck components and a mobile device on-site puts data right at the VUMC team’s fingertips.
The team conducts a weekly check-in to assess flow rates on specific fixtures throughout the facility, and the data has allowed them to adjust flow rates accordingly. Thanks to the mobile application, VUMC’s staff is also able to adjust settings wirelessly, set faucet timeouts and measure and report water usage as needed.

 “Sloan’s faucets have proven to be very effective,” says Randy Howington, plumbing shop manager at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. “They are high performing, and they have the ability to give us an understanding of how our faucets are performing at an exact moment.”