Penn Foundation

Staff Talk:Building

November 1st, 2007 by Blog Manager

New building arial

THE NEW ADDITION TALK: This blog page is for staff who may have questions about the new building.

47 Responses to “Staff Talk:Building”

on 02 Nov 2007 at 1:31 pm Barbara B

It looks like this will be one gorgeous building but what are those two big water tanks for? You know, the tanks that are going in the big hole next to the gazebo?

Response: The tanks for that are going into the hole near the gazebo are called “holding tanks”…these tanks will hold water primarily for fire emergencies…. All new buildings have a fire sprinkling system so if there were a serious fire every room would be sprayed with water coming from those tanks.

The public water system doesn’t have enough pressure to cover for these “once in a lifetime events” but when a serious fire were to occur, those tanks will be activited to handle the sudden, increased need for water.

Additionally those tanks are super big because they are designed to handle the front buidling as well….
on 02 Nov 2007 at 2:32 pm Madeleine Gehringer

Are any of the showers in the client’s bedrooms being replaced? It would be wonderful if we could have 2 rooms with a good seat in the shower stall. The present showers have a seat/shelf that does not work for unsteady detox clients.

Response: There are no plans to replace or upgrade any of the existing rooms. However, matters like this can always be addressed at any time. I would suggest you start by making the request to Angel. Maitenence can look into those two rooms and get them upgraded if they are at risk.
on 02 Nov 2007 at 3:11 pm Kelly

I would love to see an approximate timeline of whats to come with the new building.

Response: At the moment I will give you just what I have heard “second hand” over the past week. (The challenage of construction is that there are just so many variables: weather, subcontractor availabilty, weather, delivery of products and of course…weather.)

Some things in the near horizon:

November week one:

     -The link betweent the trailers and main building should be restored; no roof for the first week or so.

    - The driveway and parking lot should get paved

    - The big, holding tanks should be placed

At the moment, there is no specific completion date except sometime in the “spring”. We are, however, currently ahead of schedule.
on 03 Nov 2007 at 12:52 pm Alan B

Will there be other “major” disruptions to existing building as the construction gets tied in? It would seem that the back walls of the nursing, Todd, Angel offices and cafeteria will have to be busted out at some time.

Response: The next “major” disruption is likely to be the cafeteria. When they take out the back wall it is likely to be a major headache in how we handle meals; not to mention Angels office. The “good” news is that most of the other renovations in the current building are slated to wait until the new buiding is mostly complete….this will allow us perhaps move some things into the new building prior to the existing building renovations.
on 05 Nov 2007 at 12:06 pm Sara

What is the purpose of the blue styrofoam-y substance between windows, etc? Is this an insulation type material?

Response: The building has a number of special features that make it a “green building”. There are features in this buildng that will save energy in the long run. Two of those features is a “geothermal heating system” and the second is what you are referencing: that being how the walls of the building are constructed. Let me respond to both items:

Geothermal heating/airconditionnig: The new buiding heating/airconditioning system will pump water down into the ground allowing the water to become a temperature of roughly 60 degrees (Ground about 10 feet down is about 60 degrees consistently year round). This water is then pumped back up to a system that uses the 60 degree water for two purposes: in the summer, it cools the air in our building and in the winter it warms the air. In the long run it reduces our heating/AC bill.

The Building design: Your question about the “blue styrafroamy stuff” references the special techniques they use to build a more efficient “green” building. They do a few things…they use the white “styrafoam” building blocks rather than concrete blocks. They then pour cement into those styrafoam blocks to seal the cement with the insulation…this makes for better overal insulation and thus lowers the heating/AC bills. The blue foam you are referencing is a spray version of insulation that further seals the windows as much as possible.
on 05 Nov 2007 at 3:13 pm Pat Kucas

Once all the construction is complete, will there be additional parking behind the new building, and will the existing parking lot still be in use.
Response: Yes and yes. The two parking lots will work out quite nicely. Our thinking is that most inpatient staff will likely continue to park in the current lot; Outpatient/home-based staff will tend to use the new parking lot.
on 05 Nov 2007 at 3:25 pm Madeleine Gehringer

The new building will have a store.
What kinds of items will be available?
Will the staff & clients be able to buy shirts, hats, pens, etc. with the PFRC name & logo on them?

Response: We haven’t thought that far yet. If I had to guess at the moment I envision more basic items such as: simple snacks, sodas, hygiene items plus books; shirts and hats-type stuff. In due time we will work on this project but likely not for another four months or so.
on 05 Nov 2007 at 3:26 pm Sandy Dale

When the new bldg is complete, will fthe Family Education take place in bldg. If so where will it be located.

Response: Out tentatitive plan is to run the family education program in the renovated cafeteria. Although we will need to work around the meal time issue; we think that having the program in the new building: accessing the store, the waiting room and all of clinical offices has a nice upside…. We will just need to work out the details in how to make that happen…those discussions will occur six month from now.
on 05 Nov 2007 at 3:38 pm Alan B

Responding to Pat,

I had the opportunity yesterday to walk the perimiter of the new driveway, parking lot and observe the addition from all angles including from the main bldg conference room. SIMPLY IMPRESSIVE from all angles. New parking lot in front of addtion would seem to be for families/clients, appears existing parking lot will remain intact. Take a walk around everyone - it does look great.

Response: Agreed. The walk around the perimeter is one worth taking.
on 05 Nov 2007 at 3:58 pm Barbara B

I just watched them putting one of the tanks in place. Oh my goodness! Those tanks are huge. And watching the small little adjustment the crane operator had to make is amazing. Just how much water is held by one tank?

Response: I have no idea of the water holding capibilities of the tanks; I just know they must be large enough to, hypothetically, enough water to mangage the water sprinkling systems of two simulteneous fires: the front building and our building. That is a lot of water! This is why hospitals have water towers.
on 05 Nov 2007 at 7:39 pm Kelly

Responding to Barbara:

I have heard from “people who know” (they asked the construction guys) that each tank holds 20,000 gallons of water. Wow, almost hard to wrap you brain around that!
on 06 Nov 2007 at 10:22 am Jackie

When exactly are people going to start moving into the new building? Also I was wondering what kind of renovations will be occurring in the existing building?

Response: We don’t have any exact date; if I had to guess I would think we would start to move in somewhere around March/April. As for the renovations of the existing building, the plan is to hold off on that until we have access to the new building… the only renovation that is to start before then is the Cafeteria wall.
on 07 Nov 2007 at 8:51 am Alan B

Not so much a question as a thought: I had the opportunity to meet with a family last evening that was last at our facility in June or pre construction. They commented that it was like a war zone walking into us. It may well be like that but this is a cause worth fighting for and if we convey our excitement and enthusiasm about the addition to our consumers they get on board quickly overlooking any temporary inconvienance. This family hopes not to need our help for long but are anxious to come back for our grand opening.
on 07 Nov 2007 at 5:13 pm Angel T

The next big step: Nov 7th.

We have 2 big stages of change occurring soon! This is all very exciting as the new building gets closer and closer to being done

Stage 1
- The uncovered link should be constructed yet this week. Hurray!
- Todd will be moving to the island of OP where Robert use to be, Angel will be setting up residence in Todds office.
- Angels office in the cafeteria will be demolished as of this Saturday yes this Saturday!
Stage 2
- The tentative plan is, Barbara will move back to her old office and Joleen will join her in that office.
- The nurses will move back to their old office.
Stage 1 will be occurring in the next day or two– By Nov 10th. Stage 2 is our thinking and would be happening in the coming weeks Nov 13th to the 20th.
on 08 Nov 2007 at 8:11 am Barbara B

After walking back and forth between the buildings, with and without the look and seeing the benefits of that walking and while looking at the aerial photos of the building, I realized what a great opportunity walking the perimeter of the parking lots and the building will be for the staff wanting to get exercise. Maybe in years to come, a walking path could be established for all Penn Foundation staff to use.

Response: It is our intention of making a walking path….hopefully much sooner than a few years! If all goes well that will occur summer/fall 2008.
on 08 Nov 2007 at 8:50 am madeleine

I like Barbara’s idea of a walking path.
Trees in memory or in honor of someone could be planted @ intervals along the path.
on 08 Nov 2007 at 10:37 am Sara

Yes, and PF employees could “sponsor” the trees! Good idea Madeleine!
on 08 Nov 2007 at 1:59 pm Debbie S

When they start to remodel the old building, where will the inpatient staff be relocated?

Response: That is a very good question….. my best guess is that the inpatient clinical program will reside in part of the upper floor of the new building….(another possibility would be the existing trailers. I doubt it will be the trailers because I just can’t see how there could be good flow from the bed rooms to the trailers.) Even with the outpatient staff and home based staff moved into the new building we will still have about four or five offices … two new group rooms, and even the staff lounge if we had to…. that could “house” the clinical aspects of the inpatient department — it would be “tight” but we could do it. The advantage of this thinking is that the inpatient program would be directly linked to the existing 2nd floor bed room hallway that leads to the living room, plus you would have the elevator right down to the cafeteria.

That is my best guess at the moment.
on 08 Nov 2007 at 2:00 pm Debbie S

Will there be cookies in the PFRC store??

Response: I think someone might have “pushed you” to ask this question…and I know who you are! Yes, I think we will have cookies.
on 08 Nov 2007 at 9:08 pm Jennifer S

I was outside this evening and a gentleman attending our AA meeting asked me if there were any plans to expand our community room. He said the number of people attending this meeting continues to grow and a lot of times it becomes standing room only. So just thought I would bring that question up as I am sure someone else would have asked it too!

Response: Yes. The Community Room is planned to be returned to its original size. This means that the back wall and the one counselors office — Jackie’s office – will be torn down. (The wall and the room were put in years ago to accomodate our need for another office.) This will take the community room all the way back to the rear window. The room should be about 15% larger than it currently is.
on 12 Nov 2007 at 4:09 pm Randy T

just wondering if the cafe is going to be any larger, it looks small to handle the increase in beds and partial program.

Response: the temporary wall you see is simply to allow them to work on the structure for the “sun corridor”… the cafeteria is definately going to be much larger…in fact… there will be no wall in the back of the cafeteria…it will open up directly into the “sun corridor”.
on 12 Nov 2007 at 9:35 pm Alan B

Question: Are the trailers gone at completion of new addition or not. From a previous post it sounds like we may still need them yet if our growth is that vibrant great, ugly they may be.

Response: The trailers will be going no matter what. We have a fair amount of space that we will be able to grow into…. I cannot forsee a growth so substantial that we would need to consider additional space any sooner than a many years from now…. I believe we will be fine in our new building for some time.
on 12 Nov 2007 at 9:36 pm Lorraine H.

I love the idea of a walking path that would be great, and possibily have a couple of benches along the path and have a plague engraved on each bench in honor of someone or in memory of someone.
on 12 Nov 2007 at 9:41 pm Lorraine H.

My question is when the time comes for everyone to move from there office space to the new building, will each person be moving their own things?

Response: I am sure that the maintence staff will play a major part in the transition to the new building….the nice thing is that I don’t think we need to instantly move every one at the same time…more likely we will be able to make the transition over a few weeks… moving all the items of “secondary importance” first and then moving groups of staff…. there are still a lot of intangibles that we simply don’t know yet…for example: how quickly will the renovations of the existing building need to be made? It is conceivable that we may need to move some of the inpatient staff first! We just won’t konw these things until we get closer to completion in the early spring.
on 12 Nov 2007 at 9:49 pm Lorraine H.

In the new building in the staff kitchenette, will this be set up like a small kitchen where we can have a refrigerator, microwave and a small sink to do our own dishes and have some cabinets to hold our supplies?

Response: I am a bit unclear as to what you mean by a “staff kitchenette”…..I will assume you mean that this would be located in the staff lounge. There will be a refrigerator, microwave, sink and staff lockers.
on 13 Nov 2007 at 5:43 pm Ronni

Will the water tanks that were recently installed be visible, or will they be underground?

Todd response: (My response is more of an “educated guess” than a guarentee…so here it goes): The tanks will be completley underground except for the two oval openings at the top. I would expect however that they will not be completely covered for some time…. the final stage of covering will likely not occur until the final landscaping is completed in the spring.

The reason being that to contour the ground from the height of the tanks down to ground level will require a lot of dirt and a lot of space to make the gradual ”hill” down to the yard area in the back….this grading will require the movement of the gazebo and likely the movement of the trailers….

Eventually, however I have little doubt they will be completley underground and the landscaping around them will make is such that they are hardly noticed.
on 13 Nov 2007 at 5:48 pm Ronni

And just because i’m curious of what our “view” will be, has it been determined where the RAH offices will be located?

Todd response: The home based staff will need to be on the second floor above the outpatient offices. The reason being that we need the outpatient staff offices closest to the waiting rooms; therefore outpatient staff will need to be on the first floor. Although all offices have beautiful windows I would suspect that the best “view” will be from the home-based staff offices since they are upstairs.
on 14 Nov 2007 at 9:50 am Lynn Renner

In the new building will we have a new system for mail distribution other than piling up plastic trays?

Todd Response: The plastic mail box trays will most definatetly be “put to rest.” The mail room will be in the large support staff office. We will definately need an “upgrade” from the mailboxes we currently use….unless of course you “beg” for us to keep them!
on 16 Nov 2007 at 11:02 am Sara

With the cafeteria renovations, will the Recovery Center have facilities that are able to accomodate cooking on-site? I ask this question to lead into another, will staff be able to purchase meals in the cafeteria, or will the system remain the same?

Response: We do not envision the cafeteria being used to prepare food; it is just too small. The current system of have “outsourcing” the food responsibility will remain. We are, however, considering other vendors for food preparation.
on 16 Nov 2007 at 12:15 pm Ronni

Will the offices be painted neutral, “calming” colors, to be determined by administration? If so, has the color scheme been decided? Or will we have cork-like walls as we do now in the trailers?

Response: Penn Foundation has a decorating committee that tends to handle colors, fabrics and basic decorations. I, fortunately, am not on that committee. Basic colors have been picked out. If interested email me and I will point you to someone who can explain the color designs. There will be no “cork-like” colors in the new building.
on 16 Nov 2007 at 3:42 pm Alan B

Will there be a designated “family” office that staff can take a incoming family, whatever the level of care, into and explain the process they are and their loved one are about to enter into, in a comfortable, welcoming and private space? Will we be customer friendly?

Response: We have designed the first floor in such a way as to have quite a number of “holding offices”…these offices are available for a number of capacities…speaking to families in private is one example. I think you will find the design of the first floor offices well suited for this expanding need.
on 17 Nov 2007 at 2:21 pm Alan B

Will there be any other renovations included in this project other that community room going back to original size and cafeteria updated to the existing building?

Response: The upstairs living room and adjacent bed rooms will be changed. The a laundry room is being moved to the new building….so the tech office/laundry room will become a three person inpatient room. This will allow us to move the 3rd shift/nurse offices into the the bedroom adjacent the current linen closet. The living room will then be increased by getting rid of the linen closet and bathroom. The medication room will return to being a meditation room. This stuff is a bit complicated; it will be come more clear in due time.
on 17 Nov 2007 at 4:40 pm gregg smith

No questions no complants things look like there moving forward and great with the new building. I dont know if any one will get this but I tried. Yes I tired.
on 19 Nov 2007 at 9:37 am Jennifer Solomon

When the new buliding is complete will we be able to access the Recovery Center via Washington Avenue?

No….the link to Washington Avenue has been frought with many complexities….it will likely be years, if ever, that we have a link to Washington Avenue.
on 19 Nov 2007 at 10:17 pm Alan B

Will we have a “Grand Opening”, will it be a public event? The last several Sunday’s it has been so great to take selected family members into the addition and they all want an invite to our “big event” and want to know how they can help.

Response: Yes there will be a “Grand Opening” public event….
on 20 Nov 2007 at 1:35 pm Madeleine Gehringer

If you have an opportunity, take a look @ our new addition from the area of the business office. It is very impressive, especially the “sky lights”
on 20 Nov 2007 at 2:44 pm Ronni

This is a question that may not be able to be answered…just a warning.
Will the walls be thicker or insulated to ensure that conversations cannot be heard through the walls? Sometimes that can be an issue back here on the island…

Response: Trailers are notorious for being unable to contain sound. I think you will find a significant improvement once you move out of the trailer and into a “real” building.
on 21 Nov 2007 at 4:01 pm Ronni

In response to Madeleine’s comment about the view of the new building from the business office…
The building in and of itself is impressive from the Lawn Avenue view. It’s so interesting how different it looks from further away. I suppose when we are so close to it each day that we lose sight of the entire picture!
on 22 Nov 2007 at 11:42 am Pat Kucas

I know this may sound melodramatic, but given that it is Thanksgiving and the holiday season is upon us, I think all of us should take a moment to be thankful, not just for the new building, but for what it symbolizes. To me, the new building symbolizes our commitment to providing the best possible care to those who are struggling with addiction in there lives.
on 24 Nov 2007 at 2:47 pm Barbara B

What is there to say anymore except hurry up guys!!!!!
on 26 Nov 2007 at 12:52 pm Jennifer Solomon

I am with Pat!!!! It really has been amazing here over the past year I have been here. We truly are one big “family” and I love every minute of it!
on 28 Nov 2007 at 12:08 pm Ronni

As MES and RAH continue to grow, has it been determined whether we, as individuals, will share offices or if we will be seperate?

Pat, I enjoyed your Thanksgiving sentiment. How true it is…

Response: All home based staff (RAH and MES) will definately have their own offices….promise! This sharing of offices for clinical staff will not be occurring in the new buildng.
on 30 Nov 2007 at 4:40 pm Barbara

After touring the building this afternoon I can say I’m really impressed. The last time I was back there it was just a shell. So much has been done since then. I’m impressed. I would like to put in one request - please don’t take away the tree that’s right next to our trailer. I have watched that grow and would miss it.
on 06 Dec 2007 at 3:33 pm Pat Kucas

Just wondering if in there will be baby changing stations in the restrooms in the new building? This never occured to me until earlier this week when a client with a baby asked me where he could take the baby to change a diaper. Just wondering.

Response: At the moment it is not in the plans. This would be easily installed however. We can look into this.
on 07 Dec 2007 at 11:12 pm Lorraine H.

This afternoon Cathy and I took a walk in the new building to look at the color palette on the walls. I must say the colors were very pleasing to the eye. The decorating committee has done a magnificient job so far, can hardly wait to see the carpeting,lighting, and the window treatments. We all can be very proud of this new building and hopefully our clients will also appreciate it, this will be a very upscale place to receive tx. Keep up the great work!
on 12 Dec 2007 at 3:55 pm Madeleine Gehringer

Regarding baby changing stations:
We really need one in both the new Men’s & Ladies’ rooms. This is sometimes a big issue on the week-end when visitors are here. They lay the babies on the floor! Unless they can find an open office & then they might use a desk!!
on 14 Dec 2007 at 3:50 pm Jennifer Solomon

Will there be a new security system in the new building?

Response: Yes, to an extent. At the support staff station, for example, there will be a system that alerts you when certain outside doors are opened. At present, we will continue to use a standard lock and key format however the doors are wired such that we could upgrade to a computerized lock/entry system if we ever want to.

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