Our Partner In Health: Contract Flooring

An example of the seamless flooring that will be installed in November.

A few months ago, Chett Walsh of Shawmut Design and Construction approached Troy Bickford, President of Raynham, MA-based Contract Flooring, for his professional opinion on some technical details regarding the seamless flooring to be used in the sterile areas of the hospital. Troy offered much more than his thoughts -- he offered to help PIH get the flooring at a substantial discount and he volunteered to send a crew, including himself and his family, to do the installation in Haiti.  

 “I liked the idea of helping a worthwhile cause and the challenge of this project, so I jumped at the chance,” said Troy. 

In November, the Contract Flooring team will travel to Mirebalais for approximately 3 weeks to install the seamless flooring. Troy already has his whole installation team lined up, including his brother Joe, his nephew Erik, and his son Daniel, along with CJ Costa and Mynor Perez.

“I hope to bring as many guys down as I can,” says Troy, “I always have people asking when we are leaving. I hope they have this same sense of spirit when the time comes!” 

Seamless flooring is used to protect against the spread of infectious diseases in hospitals. Without seamless flooring, blood spatter and other bacteria from fluids can seep into the space between floor and walls or be absorbed by grout between tiles. Once absorbed, the bacteria are not easily cleaned and can multiply and spread. 

This will be especially critical in the Mirebalais operating rooms where the Zanmi Lasante medical teams hope to perform surgeries like large orthopedic procedures that require a very high degree of infection control.  Seamless flooring is flashed and sealed six inches up the wall so spills can be easily cleaned and there is no joint or seam. 

Not only has Troy helped design the installation of the flooring, but he has also networked within the flooring industry to procure the materials either as donations or at a substantially discounted rate.  

Troy is most excited about working on site in November, as one of the final steps of construction completion and shortly before the hospital opens to the public. “I’m eager to see the project complete and up and running. We’re ready to get out there and get it done.  I hope people respond well to our work and hope it makes the hospital run smoother on a day to day basis.” 

However, Troy has another goal for this trip as well: “I hope [this trip] is educational for my son. I would like him to have more perspective on just how much we have and how fortunate we are to live like we do.”