By By J. Kinchen-Schneider NMNCA BRAC PAO
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(photo by Timothy Smith)
The new two-story Medical ‘‘Swing Space” will receive its first occupants in mid-November. During BRAC construction, the temporary facility will allow uninterrupted care for the medical center’s patients. The space is a temporary home for the clinics until their permanent spaces, which will be located in Building A, will be ready for occupancy in late 2010. |
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Excellent patient care is the hallmark of the National Naval Medical Center. To make sure we maintain our reputation for exceptional healthcare during the mandated Base Realignment and Closure construction that is currently ongoing,, a new temporary Medical ‘‘Swing Space” has been constructed. The Swing Space will allow NNMC to maintain clinic services amidst all the construction and renovation thus ensuring minimizing if not eliminating impact on patient care. The space, which is located in the Navy Exchange parking lot, is constructed of 40 trailer units that assemble to make a two-story facility.
Still on schedule for completion by late November, all of the units for the new two-story Medical Swing Space are already in place. According to Charlie Bird, engineering tech at the Officer-in-Charge-of-Construction, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, the spaces were built as a temporary home for the clinics until their permanent spaces, which will be located in Building A, will be ready for occupancy in late 2010.
‘‘This allows the clinics to remain in operation during the renovation of their old spaces and maintain the level of care the patients expect,” he said. ‘‘When the new building is completed, the clinics will reside on the first and second floors of Building A.”
The benefit of this is that patient care will be uninterrupted. ‘‘Although the staff has to move, their new temporary spaces will have been designed especially for the clinics use, allowing them to serve their patients effectively and efficiently,” he said.
In fact, the creation of the temporary Medical Swing Space provides benefits to the patients and the medical center. First, it allows the patients the advantage of not having to go elsewhere for treatment and they can continue to see the same doctor. Secondly, for the medical center there will be no breaks in the service to the patients.
To this end, the following departments will start moving into the new spaces: Orthopedics and Podiatry during late November. Then Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy will move the first week of December, according to Bird. Until then, other clinics moving to the MSS are Chiropractics and Professional Affairs. Staff should start preparing now for the scheduled moves and should ensure patients are aware that there next appointment may be in the swing space.
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