MUSC's
new hospital
ACC responsible for
smooth move to center
by
Heather WoolwinePublic Relations
Most people can’t imagine the scope of work involved in preparing for a move into a new major medial center. We see the enormous bed tower hoisted into the Charleston skyline; the glass paneling that is almost complete; the intense level of hustle and bustle from the ground to the top levels of the new structure. What we don’t see is the intensive work required to turn an innovative steel structure into an academic medical center.
The Action Coordinating Committee (ACC) is responsible for the building’s evolution into a patient-friendly complex driven by excellence, and designed to deliver quality, safe patient care. Bill Spring, MUSC Heart and Vascular Center director, and Marilyn Schaffner, clinical services administrator and chief nursing officer, were tasked to guide the various departments’ and services’ move into the new facility next year. By forming ACC and serving as its co-chairs, Spring and Schaffner stand at the point of administrators, directors, managers and other key staff members responsible for specific areas of service that will be located in the new hospital by the summer of 2007.
A Mullinax Trucking
dump truck delivers a load of dirt at the site of the new hospital
while Danny Chetwood (center) of BGKS waits to level soil for an
arrival garden. BGKS is a joint venture among Brasfield & Gorrie,
MB Kahn Construction and Southern Management Group. To further assist in the transition to the new hospital, consulting firm Kurt Salmon Associates (KSA) has proven to be a valuable cog in the wheel that will bring the new hospital to life next summer.
“The KSA consultants arrived some time ago and we’re delighted to have them with us,” Spring said. “They’ve assisted large facilities comparable to ours, like the one in Cleveland (Ohio), move into new facilities. Their guidance and help has been welcome.”
KSA’s Health Care Consulting group provides management advisory services in facility planning, strategy and information technology to various health care providers, according to its Web site. The group has assisted more than 3,000 hospitals in all 50 states and 11 countries. Consultants’ backgrounds range from nursing and business to architecture.
Along with the numerous upgrades, advanced technologies and innovative space design, those who are involved with the new facility face some challenges. “The layout will be very different so staffing requirements and operations will be different,” said Chris Malanuk, new hospital project manager. “It will be a challenge to have this facility with no full pharmacy or laboratory services. Instead, an on-demand tube system that goes under Doughty Street, around the garage and into the main hospital will service the new hospital.”
This advanced three-tube courier system operates with two systems working at any given time, with the third tube serving as a back-up. The 6-inch diameter tubes connect the new hospital to inpatient pharmacy and laboratory services much like the systems most people see at their bank teller drive- through windows.
“There are hundreds of people involved in the planning of this new facility,” Spring said. “It’s amazing how much work and planning goes into a project of this size and scope.”
For many of those immersed in the operational planning of the facility, a new Web site designed by the ACC support team will offer information about the new hospital, as well as a frequently asked questions forum. “The new hospital FAQ’s page is not necessarily a rumor mill; we want to answer reasonable questions, rather than individual e-mails,” Spring said.
To visit the ACC Web page, go to http://dev.muschealth.com/ACC/faq.htm%20.
Spring also spoke of the rapid progress of the new facility and its implications for the long-run. “The faster that the facility gets finished and we move in, we save more money and can open and generate revenue. If we open by August 2007, we’ll save at least $3 (million) to $4 million.”
To that end, no more construction changes are permitted for the new facility, as anything changed at this point would become cost-prohibitive.
ACC meets once a month and, as the completion date nears, the group will meet more frequently and continue to present facility and equipment updates via The Catalyst and communications meetings.
Action Coordinating Committee
Bill Spring and Marilyn Schaffner, co-chairs
Diagnostics and Interventions team: Natalie Ankney, team leader
Operating Room team: Karen Weaver, team leader
Patient Access team: Susan Pletcher, team leader
Nursing team: Sharon DeGrace, team leader
Ambulatory team: Sherry Gillespie Miller, team leader
Information Technology team: Dave Northrup, team leader
Support team: John Franklin, team leader
Ancillary team: June Darby, team leader
Physicians’ team: Patrick Cawley, team leader
Human Resources: Betts Ellis, team leader
University team: Lisa Montgomery, team leader
Facilities team: Dennis Frazier, team leader
ACC Support staff: Tonya Hazelton- program assistant; Nick Whichard, Heart and Vascular IT manager and Quickbase database
How’s it going?
This feature will appear along with monthly new hospital updates so members from the various replacement hospital ACC teams can share their thoughts about the transition to a landmark health care facility and teaching environment.
“It’s going to be a beautiful place to work for staff, patients and their families. We will continue to offer the same service excellence in both the new and current hospital facilities, and the new building will provide more room for back-fill in the old space. We’re excited about the move.”
—Chaplain Terry Wilson, Pastoral Care, ancillary team member
“The new hospital will be a big change from how we operate here at MUHA. Physical therapy will have to share space with all the other staff working at the hospital, maybe more than we have had to in the past, so we’re going to reorganize and change staffing patterns. The biggest challenge will be finding where things are to get the job done, but the basics of our work will not change. There won’t be any more apologizing for an old facility. ...We can brag about our new hospital to our patients and visitors. The new facility will be a source of pride for the employees working there.”
—Erica Rouvalis, physical therapy manager, ancillary team member
“This facility is designed to be a state-of-the-art, patient-friendly facility and is the first of a three- phase project. We will have new facilities and tools (computer systems) to better serve patients. Although it will expand the size and scope of the department, services will be coordinated with those we provide at all of the MUSC facilities, and staff has been very involved in planning. There is some uncertainty regarding future patient care activity in the current facility after the new hospital opens, but I am pleased with the planning process and involvement of staff and management with the design.”
—Paul Bush, PharmD, pharmacy services director and associate professor, ancillary team member
Friday, Sept. 29, 2006
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