It’s been a busy spring, summer, and fall as NYUCD’s $100 million campaign to renovate all out-of-date facilities and to construct new facilities has continued to move forward toward our goal of completely transforming the College’s infrastructure to reflect 21st century technology, design, and function.

Central Sterilization Facility
Last spring, a project that was six years in the making came to fruition with the opening of a new 7,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art, central sterilization unit (CSU) that, at five times the size of the previous unit, is the largest facility of its kind in the world. The CSU combines automated washing technology, cart washing capabilities, sterilizers, and an electronic tracking system for every stage of a sterilization program that processes 55,000 instrument cassettes every month.

According to Dr. Francis V. Panno, former Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs, “The new unit was designed to provide accountability for every instrument cassette, handpiece, and bur block at every stage of the sterilization process. The instrument management system designed by ScanTrack interfaces with the Belimed washing and sterilizing equipment and enables the staff to determine the location of the entire instrument inventory during every phase of the process at any given time.”

Although it’s been open less than a year, the CSU has steadily attracted visitors from hospitals as well as dental schools across the country who want to adopt the most advanced sterilization technology available.

Witkin Center Construction, Schwartz Building, and Clinic 1A Renovations
Three floors of the five-floor crown jewel of NYUCD’s facilities project, the Witkin Graduate Center for Clinical Excellence, are nearing completion. The third floor of the Witkin Center will house the dental hygiene program, faculty offices, a seminar room, and postgraduate study lounge. Floors four and five will house periodontology and implant dentistry. In addition, a 64-chair clinic on the third floor of the Schwartz Building was completely renovated over the summer and opened in fall 2007. The first-floor patient admissions and radiology area (1A) was also renovated to increase patient admitting efficiency and privacy.

250 Park Avenue South
In September, the Department of Epidemiology & Health Promotion, the Office of Human Resources & Faculty Services, and the Office of Financial Management & Business Operations all moved into 9,000 net square feet of leased space at 250 Park Avenue South. The space was completely renovated and furnished to create a working environment that fosters efficiency, openness, and interaction.

250 Park Avenue South.

250 Park Avenue South.