| Give
the gift of warmth
TO THE EDITOR:
Now that we are all enduring this harsh winter
weather, I expect one of your questions has been how far
to turn down the home thermostat while still maintaining
a comfortable temperature throughout the night. However,
for many Massachusetts families in temporary crisis due
to loss of a job or unexpected illness, a far more difficult
question of “heat or eat?” is being asked.
The Massachusetts Good Neighbor Energy Fund, administered
by The Salvation Army, is often the last resort for families
who are in need of energy assistance and who have not qualified
for federal and state assistance programs. Unfortunately,
due to the uncertain economy, the high cost of energy and
the falling temperatures, our local service center is seeing
a dramatic rise in the number of requests for energy assistance
over the last couple of weeks. In fact, we expect the urgency
of need to continue to escalate through the winter and into
the spring. With this in mind, those in need of energy assistance
should visit their local Salvation Army Service Center or
call 800-334-3047.
To help us satisfy the more than 5,000 requests for aid
anticipated this winter alone, I appeal to everyone in the
Worcester area to join their fellow residents in the Commonwealth
and the sponsoring energy companies and “Give the
Gift of Warmth.” Energy customers can donate by using
the mint-colored Good Neighbor Energy Fund donation envelopes
found as an insert in their monthly energy bills or through
the “add a dollar” program some energy companies
offer. People can also donate on-line by visiting www.magoodneighbor.org
or by simply making a check payable to “The Good Neighbor
Energy Fund” and sending it to The Salvation Army,
147 Berkeley St., Boston, MA 02116.
On behalf of all those families in need, thank you.
Lt. Colonel Fred Van Brunt
Divisional Commander
The Salvation Army
|
Hospital
expansion planned
TO
THE EDITOR:
The
Harrington Memorial Hospital’s Board of Directors
has authorized development of specification for Phase I
of a major expansion/renovation project. The project is
still subject to approval by the Department of Health and
will need to be bid-out for construction, but we hope for
a beginning of construction in early spring. The total project
cost will be $15.1 million, which will be a challenge for
the hospital.
The first phase of the project involves the construction
of a new building on the Harrington Memorial Hospital campus.
This new facility will house laboratory services on the
first floor and primary care physicians on the second floor.
An underground passage will link the new facility with the
hospital going under the emergency room.
The expanded laboratory space in the new building will allow
for significantly more diagnostic equipment and space. The
building is designed to allow for further expansion in the
future. It will be located near the emergency room of the
hospital on the site now occupied by a building known as
the “Carriage House,” which housed the Health
Education Resource Center. That community education program
has already been relocated to another building nearby on
Oakes Avenue.
The renovation will also offer more privacy for patients
who are registering and using the laboratory and other outpatient
services. Moving the laboratory to the new facility will
also allow for additional space for a number of important
departments within the hospital including Diagnostic Imaging,
Cardiac Rehabilitation, Cardiovascular Center, Respiratory
Therapy and Pulmonary Medicine.
Placing Family Medicine and Internal Medicine physicians
in the new facility will make those services more convenient
and accessible for patients. It will also allow physicians
to better collaborate and provide backup for each other.
Many
of the hospital’s functions that are in greatest demand—radiology,
same day surgery, outpatient services—are housed in
areas that are poorly designed for current patient and staff
requirements. The current facility limits the ability of
the hospital to implement new programs and services and
most importantly, the present design hinders privacy, comfort
and convenience for patients and their families.
Much of the project is targeted at making the facility more
user-friendly. We know that our patients seek more privacy,
seek more convenience and want us to maintain the highest
possible quality of healthcare. Outpatient services once
represented less than 30 percent of hospital visits, but
now accounts for more than 70 percent.
The expansion will be developed in three phases. It is anticipated
that Phase Two of the project will involve renovation of
patient floors 2North and 3North and eliminate all three-bed
inpatient rooms and convert to single and double rooms.
Part of the project will include the relocation and expansion
of Same Day Surgery services to accommodate patient demand
and privacy concerns. Finally, the Central Sterile Supply
department will be relocated and additional space for the
Uro-dynamics program will be created.
The final phase of the project will create two new operating
rooms and renovate existing operating rooms to accommodate
the latest surgical equipment and procedures.
The entire project may require five or even six years for
completion. The timing of the phases will depend on construction
issues as well as fiscal ability to pay for the project
as it proceeds. The hospital intends to pay for much of
the renovation through operational funds with potential
supplements through grants, the hospital endowment and community
fund-raising efforts.
Bernard R. Kingsley
Harrington Memorial Hospital
Director of Development and Marketing
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