Construction
The project remains on schedule for completion in August 2003, according to Donovan Jacoby, Assistant Project Superintendent for Bovis Lend Lease Inc. Exterior bricks have been placed on 50 percent of the east and west faces of the building. The ground-face masonry for the bottom part of the exterior has arrived and should be going up next week. Crews are currently erecting the trusses that will support the metal roof. The MRI room's foundation, which will be four feet deeper than the foundation for the rest of the building, will soon be poured. The parking lots and driveways have been plotted out, and gravel has been placed in those areas.

All of the duct work has been roughed in on the second floor where work is also beginning on the piping for the various medical gases that will be used in the OR, pre-op and recovery areas. Most of the walls on the second floor have been framed in, and work also continues there on the plumbing and electrical routes. All projects on the second floor will be wrapped up before workers head to the third floor. The last floor to be completed will be the first floor. Crews from Dominion Virginia Power and Sprint will arrive soon to install power and data lines for the entire building.

The sign that identifies the project as the Martha Jefferson Outpatient Care Center and displays the architect's rendering of the completed building, its expected completion date and our project partners has been erected on Route 250 in front of Peter Jefferson Place.

Interiors
Final selections will be made this month for furniture and fabrics to be used in public spaces, e.g., lobbies, waiting rooms, patient exam areas. Office furnishings will be selected early in the new year, with users helping to identify specific needs. Another area of focus is internal and external signage for wayfinding. Discussions are underway with signage firms, and a decision is imminent. We also are in the process of sending out RFPs for art consultants for public spaces and patient rooms.

Operations:
Here is a snapshot of the Urgent Care Center, which will be located on the first floor.

· A separate entrance, with covered patient drop-off
· Registration and a lounge are located just inside the door
· 11 exam/treatment rooms, arranged around a central nurses' station
· X-ray and other diagnostic imaging adjacent to the UCC
· The Clinical Laboratory will support of the UCC's needs on site, and will also collect
specimens for outpatient testing and provide EKGs for pre-operative patients.
· No appointments necessary
· The UCC will be staffed by at least one physician at all times plus nurses and a lab tech

The Urgent Care Center is designed to decompress the busy Emergency Department and provide better service to patients with urgent care needs, such as sprains, lacerations, flu-like symptoms. Currently these patients may experience longer wait times in the ED, where the staff must prioritize treatment based on severity of need.