Q: I’m on the second floor in Abrams Hall and my hot water doesn’t really get hot. I turn it all the way on and it still doesn’t get very hot, just warm.

A: We will take a look at it. We do need to remind folks that we are in a patient environment. We have a lot of folks, who because of medications, have issues with skin sensitivity and amputations. There is a threshold that’s established on the hot water, which is 115 degrees plus or minus five degrees. The water is coming out at about 120 degrees. Some people think that’s not hot enough, but it’s at the level we need to keep it at to prevent scalding. We will come up and check that for you to make sure you’re good to go.

We also encourage people to put in a work order for their issues through the Abrams Hall supply desk. In the Mologne House, IAP has a desk in the lobby where staff handles all requests for any maintenance you need done in your rooms. We also encourage people to talk with their chain of command so we have knowledge on what the issues are because we’re looking for trends, and that’s what we’ve found in a couple of locations.

Q: Some of us are having issues with child care. The child development center on post tells us there’s a year-long waiting list. For people who are outpatients, we have the hourly child care for up to four hours a day, but if you are an inpatient, you have the opportunity for child care all day. Why?

A: You’re right, there is a problem. Part of the problem is that we don’t have a CDC in child care. We have an annex that [falls under] Fort Detrick, Md. Fort Detrick has oversight of that entire program now. They control Forest Glen, and on the main post, we have a very small [child care] facility. The purpose of that facility is really to take care of the warriors in transition who have outpatient appointments and need to drop off one of their children for a little bit of time to take care of their business. There are other folks, however, who are going over there for longer periods of time. So that has put a strain on the system with the little bit of resources they have, because they’re not only personnel limited, but they’re space limited. We’re trying to attack this problem, but we don’t have a solution yet. We know there is a problem, and we’re looking into it.