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MUSC Rumor Mill separates fact from fiction County Garage parking Rumor: A rumor is floating around that MUSC employees will never be able to replace the Roper employee parking spots in the County Garage. Is anyone looking at the contract that Roper has with MUSC? Truth: Roper employees park in the County Garage because the university is contractually obligated to provide spaces to Roper as part of the terms of the purchase of that garage. The Roper agreement has been under constant scrutiny since the garage came under the control of MUSC; however, there has been little room for negotiation because there have been no options. The pending construction of the new Bee Street garage now changes that. MUSC requested, and Roper has agreed, that effective no later than July 1 Roper will decrease the spaces used in the County Garage temporarily from 700 to 400 spaces. Roper has also agreed that when the new garage is open, MUSC will have the discretion to assign some or all of Roper’s contract to the new garage, thus opening the premium parking in the county garage to MUSC users. Roper officials have plans to build their own garage. Parking for the new hospital Rumor: I heard a waiting list will be available to employees for the future 1,500- car, eight -story parking garage for the new hospital. Truth: Initially, the Bee Street garage will be dedicated to employee and student parking, with patients and visitors to the new hospital parking in the Courtenay Drive garage. Based on historical parking utilization data, the 1,500 spaces in the Bee Street garage will allow Parking  Management to make 2,000 guaranteed parking assignments. No waiting list for this facility is planned. However, should conditions warrant the establishment of a waiting list, it will be established nearer the time of occupancy so as to have as current a list as possible and it will be based on an equitable method, such as longevity. President street parking garage Rumor: Is it true that MUSC does not want to maintain the President Street garage now that not as many people park there? Many lights are out and the elevator does not work the majority of the time. Truth: The MUSC electric shop will repair the lights that are out in Parking Garage II as a direct result of your observations and input. The MUSC Service Call Desk (792-4119) is available to respond to all repair requests. Equipment Rumor: Is there any truth to the fact that equipment in the warehouse may be auctioned off? Truth: Surplus property in the Medical Center warehouse is disposed of in a number of ways. While some of this property is sold and with the revenue reverting to offset Medical Center operating costs, a major component of the surplus property program is to give back to the community. Examples of entities that have benefitted from this program include local and state governments, school systems, community health service outreach programs, and overseas missions. Cappuccino in the cafeteria Rumor: Is it true that MUSC takes its time having the cappuccino machine repaired in the cafeteria because it makes more money off of Starbucks? Truth: No, this is not true. Clocking in/out at parking lots Rumor: I heard that starting in January all employees will be able to clock-in/out at their designated parking areas. Truth: There is no truth to this rumor. Employees are not authorized to swipe into the Time and Attendance system until they are in their work area and are ready to begin work. As a result, employees are assigned to clock in/out at a time clock closest in proximity to their home department. (See the Time and Attendance guidelines in Human Resource Management Policy No. 29, Time and Attendance, which can be accessed via the MUSC Web site.) Colcock Hall Rumor: The renovation is beautiful. I noted the overlook on the roof was added to the building when the renovation was completed. What is the current and historical function of that part of the building? I have heard different things. Truth: The original building had a roof top monitor much like the one seen today. The purpose of the monitor was to provide roof top ventilation for the building. The monitor provides a very similar function today because the louvers allow outside air to be drawn into the building and to be heated or cooled as needed by the air handling equipment housed within the monitor enclosure. [For the history of Colcock Hall, visit http://www.musc.edu/colcockhall] Funding the joint MUSC/VA hospital Rumor: We keep hearing things about funding and plans for the joint MUSC/VA hospital. We read that MUSC desired the federal government to build the hospital for $600 million and then MUSC would agree to lease space in the facility. Then  only about $60 million was agreed upon. Does MUSC not have funding for the new hospital? Were we depending on the federal government to build the entire thing? Truth: First, the request was for planning and design only. This is a necessary first step and typically is based upon about 10 percent of the total project cost. Before the money can be appropriated it must be authorized, which was the purpose of this legislation. In fact, the legislation passed in the final few hours of the congressional session. The actual appropriation must be secured in the next congressional session. In terms of the ultimate project, several different models have been proposed. The one on which the authorization was based, and which supports the university’s preferred approach, is for the VA to build its own bed tower and the shared components. Trees Rumor: The trees outside the ER have orange bands on them. Does this means they will be cut down? If so, can they be removed professionally and carried off? Truth: The tree marking in the vicinity of and to the west of the Education Center/Library Building is a part of preliminary planning activities related to the Drug Discovery Building and associated landscaping improvements. Trees that have an orange ribbon are trees that can remain in place. Trees that have a yellow ribbon will need to be removed or relocated. Drug Discovery Building activity is expected to begin in about a year. Dental building Rumor: We have heard different dates for completion of the dental building. What is correct? Is it possible to pave a walkway from the Children's Research Institute (CRI) to Bee Street? The path is really getting muddy. Truth: The path from Bee Street to CRI and back through the existing opening in the Bee Street wall across from 30 Bee St. will be short lived. We expect to award the College of Dental Medicine Clinical Services Building construction contract in February, and work on Colcock Hall Parking Lot should begin shortly after that. The College of Dental Medicine Clinical Services Building is expected to be completed within two years of award. The Colcock Hall Parking Lot has received City of Charleston Board of Architecture approval, but still needs final approval from the City of Charleston Technical Review Committee (TRC). We will request final TRC approval and expect to be in a position to award a contract for that work in March. Wireless access Rumor: Is MUSC contemplating an upgrade of the current wireless system to a Draft N system? Truth: We currently have wireless 802.11b and g, our Voice over IP phones use ‘b’ and most PC’s are using ‘g’. Due to a performance issue we are converting the COWs (Computers on Wheels) in the hospital to 802.11a. Although 802.11n is faster in theory, it can be slower than 802.11g in some circumstances. We have not tested ‘n’ and have not developed a plan to convert to ‘n’ at this time. Future plans for the old hospital Rumor: What is the plan for the old hospital once the new one is built? Truth: At this time the old hospital will be renovated for use primarily by adult medical surgical services that are not moving to Phase I. Space also will be dedicated to pediatric services. MUSC Excellence Rumor: In The Catalyst, Stuart Smith lists increasing inpatient admissions by 2 percent as one of the hospital goals. Is this the correct figure? Truth: The target is actually 2.7 percent. The hospital has been so full that it has been necessary to be on ICU and Med/Surg. However, through better management of the patient flow, the number of admissions for the first five months of this fiscal year has grown by more than 7 percent. Therefore, it is likely that the target of 2.7 percent will be met. Thanks  to many people who have made this possible. Reproduced from http://www.musc.edu/rumor/.     Friday, Jan. 5, 2007 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Island Publications at 849-1778, ext. 201.