Driscoll Children’s Hospital is a 189-bed pediatric tertiary care center with more than 30 medical and surgical specialties offering care throughout South Texas, including Corpus Christi, the Rio Grande Valley, Victoria and Laredo.
Through the vision and generosity of its founder, Clara Driscoll, Driscoll Children’s Hospital opened in 1953 and remains the only free-standing children’s hospital in South Texas.
The shower stalls in 30 patient rooms were in desperate need of repair as water was leaking through grout lines, dated and discolored. Grout was chipped and missing in some instances. It was apparent that a makeover was much needed.
Eddie Naro, owner of the local Corpus Christi Miracle Method franchise since 1988, was brought in to make the repairs.
“It’s a two-step cleaning process,” Naro explains. “The walls needed to be thoroughly cleaned, we had to regrout the tiles to make it even and filled. Now it looks like brand new tile.”
First, he needed to set up a ventilation system. Then he had to apply bonding agent to tile. Most contractors rely on a mechanical bond. Chemical bonding reacts to the tile. The biggest difference is that with a mechanical bonding, water can get in.
The process begins with an Armorguard primer color. Then Miracle Method’s exclusive Natural Accents gives it color and, finally, an Armorguard clear coat on top of that to seal it. The shower area can be down anywhere from 24-48 hours depending on necessity.
Armorguard is a water-based system to finish and refurbish tile without the need for acid-etch, bonds or epoxies.
Miracle Method had used other systems to reglaze tiles. But the hospital staff requested a low odor product, which the Armorguard from Seagrave Coatings provides.
“We love it,” Naro says. “For what we need it for, it’s a great product. Concern for smell. People don’t want isocyanates and chemicals sprayed in their hospital. There’s a great need for that.”
Hygiene is of paramount importance in hospitals. Pathogens can easily spread from surfaces to patients. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), there were more than 700,000 healthcare-associated infections in 2011.
“A lot of water-based systems haven’t worked, but this one works,” Naro claims. “It allows us to work in an area that we normally wouldn’t. It’s an opportunity for Seagrave to revolutionize our business because it’s a water-based system.”
Naro had first come in contact with Seagrave Coatings at a trade show.
The Armorguard System delivers acrylic urethane surface hardness, but cures in hours for fast return to service. It is VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) compliant and is GREEN WISE by Coatings Research Group Inc.
There’s little to no odor, it doesn’t yellow or chalk and no special respirators are needed.
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