Reflecting & Saying So Long to 2012

There’s much to be thankful for as we reflect on 2012 and look ahead to what will be the Health Center’s 15^th year. This past year has been one of our busiest and most exciting. Our brand new 22,000 sq/ft building in Mashpee opened this fall, just one year after we broke ground on the project. The Health Center now serves a record high of nearly 15,000 children, adults, seniors, and families in our community, more than any other community health center in our area.

We celebrated the new addition with a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony on September 21 and 125+ people attended. They all heard Senate President Therese Murray, Senator Dan Wolf, and Health Center leadership speak to the great need in this region and the ways in which the Health Center is helping meet those needs.

On November 3^rd we hosted a Community Open House in our brand new space that featured insurance enrollment, mental health screenings, blood pressure readings, tours, applications for volunteer and employment opportunities, and more. This event was also extremely well attended.

The new 10-chair Dental Clinic opened on October 29^th and General Medicine and Women’s & Family Medicine began seeing patients on November 12^th. Our new Imaging Services (provided here by Falmouth Hospital) and Pharmacy for low-cost or no-cost prescriptions for our patients both opened the week before Christmas. In the original building, SameDay Care is provided for Health Center patients and we look forward to obtaining the proper licensing to open a Walk-in Service for anyone, not just Health Center patients.

Having the staff, capacity, and resources to provide primary/preventive, women’s health, behavioral health, dental care, case management, imaging, pharmacy, and more to so many of our friends and neighbors in need this year is what we, at the Health Center, are truly thankful for. It is only with generous support from so many that the Health Center can continue providing those in need in our community with affordable, integrated healthcare.

Community Open House a Huge Success!

On Saturday, November 3rd Community Health Center of Cape Cod hosted its Community Open House from 10 am - 1 pm to showcase the new 22,000 sq/ft addition to its Mashpee facility. Over 100 patients, donors, and community members attended throughout the day.

Tours of the building were provided as well as a host of health services and screenings, like blood pressure readings and medication evaluations. Our Human Resources Director accepted volunteer and employment applications.

We are excited to have completed our first full week of operations in our new Dental Clinic and look forward to moving into our Women's & Family Health and General Medicine space by next Monday, November 12.

Thank you to everyone who was able to attend our Community Open House! For those who couldn't be there, please contact the Development Office at 508-477-5990 to arrange for a visit or a tour anytime.

Megan Luizzi, Women's & Adolescent Health Program Director (left) and Michael Forbes, Pharmacist, assist Open House guests on Saturday morning

Community Open House - Nov. 3rd in Mashpee

Ribbon Cutting, September 21, 2012

 On Friday, September 21, we officially unveiled our new building to the public.  More than 150 patients, donors, community representatives, elected officials, staff, and volunteers joined us on a sunny afternoon to cut the ribbon and tour the new building.  Thanks to all who attended.  The new building will open to patients in mid to late October.  Mark your calendars for a Community Open House on Saturday, November 3.

CHC staff

left, CHC Board of Directors President David Peterson, Board member Levi Adams, and Sen. Dan Wolf

More staff

guests

Patients and members of the Board cut the ribbon

Some of the JK Scanlan construction team with Board member Rudy Hunter

We're getting close now!

New 22,000 square-foot Health Center addition in Mashpee, 107 Commercial Street

Registration area for our new 10-chair dental clinic

Women's & Family Health Hub

Our brand new Pharmacy for CHC patients

Main Floor (2nd floor) Lobby

Parking lot and landscaping are being finished up with a path to Route 28

On the home stretch!

While touring through the new addition, you’ll see hard-hatted construction crews buzzing around tirelessly to beat the September 30 deadline for completion of this new space. That’s the date we need to have our occupancy permit by as a stipulation of the $6 million grant from the Affordable Care Act. We are well on track though, thanks to the diligence of JK Scanlan’s team, our Building Committee, and our wonderful partners from the Town of Mashpee.

Making progress on the Ground Floor in the Lobby 
(to the left will be the Pharmacy and to the right will be the new Dental Clinic)

The waiting area in the new 10-chair Dental Clinic on the Ground Floor

Cabinetry and wall mounted computer stations are now in the exam rooms. Final coats of paint have been completed in the exam rooms as well. The stair railing systems are going in and the large skylight has been uncovered. 

Katy O'Connell showing around CHC staff, Joan Dowd and Cheryl Uchmanowicz

“It looks great,” said Building Committee Member and CIO, Katy O’Connell, “lots of natural light pouring in now from the roof all the way to the ground floor. And thankfully no rain pouring in!” 

The feature wall, which is made of up different colored panels, is being built below the skylight.

The retaining wall has now been completed on the east side of the building. There is still plenty to be done, but staff and patients alike are excited to move into their new space and that day is getting close!

From the General Medical Clinic on the Main Floor looking down the hallway toward the existing building. The row of windows on the left are overlooking the courtyard. Construction crews will be breaking through that far end of the hallway into the existing building in a couple of weeks to finally connect the two buildings.

Cruising along, on track for September completion

A bit too soggy for exterior work this afternoon

It has been an incredibly busy summer at the Health Center. We are now caring for over 14,000 patients and literally busting at the seems. Staff and patients alike are looking forward to the fall when our new addition will be complete and move-in ready! Patients should look for Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) hand-outs at their upcoming appointments with news and updates about the new building, where things are located, how to check-in, etc.

JK Scanlan is scheduled to begin work on the openings/connections between the existing and new buildings in the next couple of weeks. We have will have 2 hallways connecting the buildings. This means there will be some relocating of exam and counseling rooms temporarily, but minimal overall disruption as it is scheduled to take place over the weekend. 

Last weekend power was completely shut off at the Health Center and electricians were successful in tying the new building’s power into the existing building. Over the weekend pipes to connect the sprinkler system for the new building were also run back to the mechanical room in the existing building. We will be coordinating a future date when the pipes will be connected, which will require shutting off water and flushing the pipes out. Gas is the last utility that still needs to be connected between the existing building and the addition.

Inside the expansion, ceramic tile is being installed this week in the bathrooms, cabinets are going in next week, and drywall is up throughout most of the building.

“Things are cruising along and we are still on target for September for the certificate of occupancy and opening for patients in October,” said Katy O’Connell, CHC Chief Information Officer and Building Committee Member.

Looking forward to a new fiscal year & new building

As we say goodbye to Fiscal Year 2012, we look ahead to an exciting FY2013 and all that it will entail. Interior construction progress ramped up on the Health Center’s new addition this week. The 22,000 sq/ft space is weather tight now with all the windows in place. Crews began installing drywall in the main (top) floor on Tuesday and also poured the concrete for the staircases this week.

Next week, the building team will be digging a trench for the gas line to the new building next to the existing back deck. Access from the deck to the front of the building will be impacted off and on, but they will try to keep a metal support over the trench to allow for egress in case of emergency. The permanent electricity to the new building is scheduled to be brought in on July 28. This will require a power outage over the weekend. In about two weeks, exterior insulation will go over the black surface, and after that siding and trim will start going on the outside.

It’s definitely all coming together now, and we are very proud to report an expected completion with certificate of occupancy by September 12. Please stay tuned as we announce some upcoming dates of interest, including National Health Center Week in August and the Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony later this fall.

Construction is humming along!  Plumbing and HVAC installation continues.  Interior walls will begin going up this week and our own “Green Monster” is now nearly covered in a black water-proofing product. Eventually, siding will be installed over it all.  Windows and the back stair case are scheduled to be installed next week and insulation will begin in about three weeks.

We are delighted to report that, thanks to many donations from the community totaling $125,000, the challenge from The Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower Foundation has been met!  The Foundation is providing a matching grant of $125,000 in support of the CHC-wide health information technology upgrade associated with the expansion.  Thanks to all of you who helped make this opportunity possible.

Does Day-Glow Green Come to Mind?

Many of you who have traveled by the construction site in Mashpee recently may be wondering what the Day-Glow Green encompassing all of our new construction might be… it is actually just part of the structural material that makes up the exterior walls, which will soon be covered with black waterproofing and then finished off with siding.

Our building team, led by JK Scanlan, is still on target to have our brand new addition enclosed by the end of the month or early June. Ducts for the climate control system have been placed as well as some plumbing, more work is still being done on the HVAC system and more plumbing. All of the floors are poured now and the elevator shaft is almost complete. Some of the drywall for interior partitions has been delivered to the construction site already! The windows are in Falmouth and ready to be installed very soon.

Health Center staff and patients are all very excited about the quick progress being made and look forward to moving into the new space in the fall.

Construction Update

A few weeks ago the steel structure of our new addition was completed in construction tradition that included staff, donors, and all who made this project possible coming out to sign their names to the final steel beam. Thank you to the many supporters who attended, from political officials to local children. It was hoisted into place on March 29, complete with an American flag and tree for good luck, as the tradition goes.

Progress is still coming along as the crews work to make the 22,000 sq/ft space weather-tight. CEO Karen Gardner and CIO Katy O’Connell of the Building Committee traveled to Boston last week to review furniture recommendations with the architect. Katy explained that the underground plumbing will be going in over the next couple of weeks and the builders have started the process of installing water service by connecting to the water main on Commercial Street. The underground electric will be installed soon as well.

We are thrilled to still be on track and moving quickly. Completion is expected for September 2012.