Project Profile: Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Altoona

Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Altoona provides expert care for people recovering from stroke, brain injury, hip fracture, and other complex conditions. The hospital’s commitment to patient support extends to its facilities, where managers partnered with Reliable Controls Authorized Dealer Nexgen Automation to automate the HVAC and domestic hot water (DHW) systems.

Facility managers wanted greater control and easier access to system monitoring and data. Nexgen Automation delivered with a Reliable Controls building automation solution.

Challenge

Previously, each HVAC unit was controlled by a standalone programmable thermostat, making it difficult to schedule zones accurately and optimize energy use. Without digital monitoring, operators had to log DHW temperatures by hand—complicating compliance with Title 21 CFR Part 11, a federal regulation for secure electronic records in health care and other US FDA-regulated facilities. The lack of system integration resulted in inefficient, manual building management.

Solution

Nexgen Automation and Encompass Health performed a detailed site walk-through to assess the facility’s automation needs. The project team installed one MACH-ProCom controller and 28 MACH-ProZone controllers for integrated control of all rooftop HVAC, make-up air, and DHW units.

RC-Studio software established the BACnet network for the new hardware, and RC-WebView provided a comprehensive web interface with thermographic floor plans, equipment graphics, alarms, scheduling tools, and more. RC-Archive gave Altoona facility staff complete ownership of building data, including historical trends for benchmarking and compliance.

Results

With a complete Reliable Controls automation system in place, facility operations improved significantly. Key outcomes included:

The elimination of individual thermostats and implementation of a unified direct digital control system for HVAC and DHW
Remote scheduling and setpoint adjustments for any zone, reducing the need to visit equipment on site
Simplified monitoring and temperature logging for DHW, streamlining Title 21 CFR Part 11 compliance
The ability to track, trend, and analyze building automation data with RC-Archive for ongoing efficiency and sustainability
Easy web-based access to alarms, equipment graphics, and scheduling via RC-WebView
A sustainable automation solution backed by a 5-year warranty and supported with backward compatibility for future expansion

Today the Altoona team can focus even more on patient care, with the confidence that the building systems are automated for efficiency, compliance, and ease of use.

Learn more about how Reliable Controls can help you manage your building with people and technology you can rely on.