In order for Navy Medicine health care workers to directly provide for patient-centered care and safety, there has to be a well-functioning military treatment facility for them to ply their chosen careers.

Gary Crist is doing his part, and then some, to help ensure that his hospital is structurally capable and adequately configured to meet all demands by doctors, nurses, hospital corpsmen and support staff.

Crist, project manager and CAD (Computer Aided Design) manager for Naval Hospital Bremerton's Facilities Department, recently passed the eligibility and examination requirements to obtain the title of Certified Healthcare Constructor (CHC).

According to Elaine Mrzlak, American Hospital Association manager of the AHA Certification Center, the CHC is a national credential that distinguishes an individual as being among the elite in the health care construction profession.

"Earning the CHC is a mark of distinction," stated Mrzlak.

Mrzlak noted that Crist had to satisfy eligibility requirements that incorporated a blend of professional experience and education, agree to adhere to the AHA Professional Standards of Conduct, and pass the CHC Certification Examination. The CHC examination assessed knowledge required of a competent health care construction manager in the areas of Healthcare Industry Fundamentals; Planning, Design and Construction Process; Healthcare Facility Safety, and Additions and Renovations.

"NHB Facilities is what made this possible for me," said Crist, who has been at NHB since 2004 and calls Bremerton home. "They gave me the opportunity and time to learn how construction project management works. Through weekly training sessions offered by our safety, environmental, and operations departments that I use every day, I had the tools needed to perform my duties in accordance with our governing authorities. I've had many great mentors while I've been here and continue to learn new concepts and ways of completing projects."

The CHC Program supports the community of health care construction professionals and certificate holders demonstrate their continued professional development and commitment to the profession by maintaining the certification through participation in professional development activities.

"Obtaining this voluntary certification confirms Gary's desire and drive to continually improve and provide Naval Hospital Bremerton with the best possible facilities within which to administer health care," said Mitchell D. Hailey Jr., NHB facility operations manager. "Congratulations Gary, well done," he added.

The CHC certification requirements are based on education, time in position, and a knowledge test. Crist attests that the knowledge test was by far the most difficult part of achieving his certification.

The test comprised 100 random questions that dealt with such topics as health care facility safety, financial stewardship, the construction process, environmental sustainability, and building systems management. It had to be completed in two hours or less. He took a sample test and created his own flash cards to study which gave him a broad pool of categories to potentially be tested on, but it turned out that none of the questions were duplicated on the actual test.

"Early in the test I was having real difficulty with a couple of questions, so I started to think back on times spent in training, conversations I had with co-workers, and the projects I've had here at NHB," said Crist, who did pass on his initial taking of the difficult test that has taken others as many as five times before passing. "My confidence was down, but using the training I've received and what my team had passed on to me helped me through it.

"I had to prepare for anything and was given some very tough questions related to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and construction contract vehicles that I had not experienced in the military," Crist said. "I had to be knowledgeable about both military and civilian health care as there are some distinct differences."

Crist's role as project manager has him performing such tasks as oversight for construction activities ranging from door repair to facility steam and hot water boilers replacement; scheduling activities with clinics to reduce impact on patient care; working with departments who receive large equipment installations requiring facility modification and rehabilitation of radiology spaces that included the installation of updated computed tomography (CT) scan, X-ray, nuclear medicine, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and mammography machines.

As computer aided design manager, Crist also implements construction documents and drawings into master drawing files for future and archival purposes, creation and management of facility Statement of Conditions documents required during Joint Commission inspections. Crist noted that there are many construction certification programs, but NHB has a long-standing relationship with the American Society of Healthcare Engineers (ASHE) and the AHA. The certification programs offered are tailored for the health care industry and encompass the roles and responsibilities that he uses on a daily basis.

"This is a pretty big deal; we believe he is the only one in Navy Medicine," said Lt. Jesse Giordano, NHB facilities engineering manager.

For more news from Naval Hospital Bremerton, visit www.navy.mil/.