Clinic to open August 3 DDC, ORs and PT/OT to begin operations Aug. 10

Walking through many areas of MUSC Rutledge Tower, you might think that clinic start-up was right around the corner. The space looks good—just add desks, exam tables, a little equipment and throw open the doors.

What you can't see is that there is still plenty of behind-the-scenes work to be done. One good example is Brenda Falls' fit-out group. They're working to pack a dozen major testing and inspection sequences into June so we can earn the city's Certificate of Occupancy by July 1. That CO covers everything from water and electrical utilities to fire alarms and signage. Basically, it means the building is ready for people to work in.

Then comes certification for the medical functions, a process that will run through the grand opening activities July 22-25. If all goes according to today's very tight schedule, licensure for the pharmacy, lab, radiology, pre-op and other tower departments should happen by July 28, paving the way for move-in operations to start the following day.

Equipment installation

In addition to items like punch-list activities, inspections, re-fits and finishing work, ten floors' worth of equipment has to be installed and test. This includes:

• radiology equipment
• OR systems
• clinic equipment and furnishings
• communication systems q wall-mounted devices
• a computer network with more than 400 PCs (plus printers, scanners, add-on drivers, etc.)

All this equipment needs to be tested to make sure it will function smoothly when clinic operations begin on Monday, Aug. 3.

Training of CLINLAN 95

This brings up another issue—computer training for clinic staff. Most of the university is networking on an operating system based on Windows 3.1, but our CCIT people are working all-out to develop an updated, MUSC-specific version of Windows 95 called CLINLAN 95. Until last year, development of this system had been put on hold because of affiliation considerations, but now it's on the front burner again. In the not-too-distant future, nearly all of the campus' 4,000 workstations will network with this new system.

To help MUSC Rutledge Tower people become accustomed to CLINLAN 95 (the transition is easier than you might think), staff members will be going through training for the next two months. Supervisors will receive additional training to help them serve more effectively as resources when staff questions come up.

Changing jobs

Some staff members are changing jobs because several clinics which were once combined have been split and/or regrouped with others to improved patient care. These people, and those who will assume the newly created support positions, will receive special training to help them get ready for August.

The objective of this training—like that of all our other orientation efforts—is to reduce anxiety and confusion by minimizing the number of new things people will face on opening day. Hopefully, Aug. 3 (and Aug. 10 for the Operating Rooms, DDC, OT/PT folks) will be like “just another day” at the clinic.

Moving forward with back-fill

Most of the planning for areas that will be vacated by the Rutledge Tower-bound clinics is under way, and the next step is to plan renovation of vacated space for its new purposes and tenants.

For areas facing the biggest changes, like the Clinical Science Building module floors and the Children's Hospital outpatient clinic floors, architects are working to program and design renovations. For other areas, like the space UDC will vacate, the redesign will be handled internally. As with every phase of this overall project, advisory committees are working closely with the tenants to develop a plan for groups like the Steering Committee to review and approve.

Q: What is CLINLAN 95?

A: To be connected to a network, computers must use a uniform operating system that allows each workstation to recognize the various “servers” and other devices that allow individual PCs to use the network's programs, databases and communication connections. To develop an operating system for a complex network like ours, you start with a commercial system (like MS Windows) and modify it. To upgrade performance, a new system is being developed from Windows 95—this process was on hold for a while due to affiliation plans, but we're working hard on it now. The new system is called CLINLAN 95, and it will be in use throughout the university's system of 4,000 workstations in the near future.

Q: If we have problems with it, what will we do?

A: Naturally, the operating system will be tested very carefully, and people will get plenty of training to help them work with it (those who have worked with pilot versions of CLINLAN 95 like it a lot). Changes can be made to overcome many problems after installation, but in a worst-case scenario, we maintain the ability to switch back to the tried-and-true system at any time. One way or another, we'll keep our systems running.