Exterior reconstruction slated for Scott & White Memorial Hospital bed tower

Temple facility façade will switch from copper to stone masonry

CENTRAL TEXAS – (November 2, 2012) Scott & White Memorial Hospital in Temple will begin reconstruction of the exterior of its main facility, the Center for Advanced Medicine (CAM), in early 2013. This planned exterior reconstruction of the CAM was necessitated by the discovery of wide-ranging and systemic defects. The construction work is a necessary step to ensure the long term viability of the building, while maintaining the highest quality standards for patients and employees, according to Robert W. Pryor, MD, MBA, president and CEO of Scott & White Healthcare.

     Scott & White will begin the reconstruction of the CAM in February or March of 2013.  The expected duration of the construction is 18 months. Hospital officials expressed confidence that the work would be done without disturbing patient care provided at the facility. Cost of the reconstruction project is expected to exceed $20 million.

     “After extensive forensic analysis of the building, we have come to the conclusion that there are significant defects in the building envelope that make it imperative that we replace the entire exterior of the CAM,” said Dr. Pryor. “For that reason, among

other measures, we will be replacing the copper façade at the CAM with a new masonry exterior.”

     Pryor said that the health and safety of patients and employees at the main facility required Scott & White to take the extraordinary measure of reconstructing significant portions of the exterior of the CAM. 

     “We are taking all measures necessary to correct the defective building exterior. Once it became evident the defects were both wide-ranging and systemic, Scott & White was able to take appropriate corrective actions to ensure that no patients or employees were endangered in any way,” said Dr. Pryor.

     It is anticipated that construction will occur in enclosed 30-foot sections in multiple locations around the building, in order to maintain quality control and limit the impact on patients and building operations. Upon completion, the entire copper façade will be replaced. Scott & White has already begun constructing a mockup of the new exterior wall at a location across the street from the CAM.

     Scott & White is pursuing legal action against all parties responsible for the defects in this building, which was completed in 2008, less than five years ago.

     “We will not wait on that litigation to fix the problem,” said Dr. Pryor. “We are proceeding in a thorough and responsible fashion. Patient and employee safety comes first.”

     Scott & White has been taking quarterly air samplings of the patient care areas in order to confirm the facility is maintaining the appropriate air quality within the building.  These samplings have been taken on every floor of the CAM and at different locations on the floor.  Approximately 85 rooms have been sampled each time. 

     “We began and continue to maintain an ongoing air monitoring program that resulted in hundreds of air samples being taken at hundreds of locations throughout the facility,” said Dr. Pryor. “We have not seen any significant variations in the samplings. But we will continue an extensive air sampling program until this reconstruction project is complete.”

     Building codes require that hospital air systems maintain positive pressure to the outside.  As a result, properly ventilated hospitals should be pushing air out of the building rather than letting outside air push into the building.  Scott& White has taken multiple pressure readings throughout the building to confirm that the CAM is correctly pressurized (pushing air out).  This is a critical element to any building maintaining the correct air quality and allows for the control of temperature and humidity within the building at the correct levels.

     Earlier, Scott & White officials brought in building forensic experts to examine areas of the building where there were known leaks. Those areas, and others, were     completely disassembled, and in those areas examined, numerous defects were discovered. After confirming multiple problems in all these different locations, Scott & White leadership decided that a reconstruction of the exterior of the CAM was appropriate.

     “Those problems are being corrected and we will continue to pursue our goal of being the most trusted and valued name in American health care,” said Dr. Pryor.

About Scott & White Healthcare (sw.org)

Scott & White Healthcare is a non-profit collaborative health care system established in 1897 in Temple, Texas.  Among the leading health systems encompassing one of the nation’s largest multi-specialty group practices, Scott & White provides personalized, comprehensive health care enhanced by medical education and research.  Scott & White Healthcare includes 12 hospital sites with two additional announced facilities, and 143 clinics at more than 65 clinic locations throughout Central Texas providing adult and pediatric care in 46 medical specialties.  Integrated, high-quality care is delivered by a dedicated staff of more than 12,000 (including 1,000 physicians and scientists and more than 300 specialized health care providers.) Get the latest news from Scott & White Healthcare by visiting our online newsroom, News blog or on Twitter (@swhealthcare).

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CTC Continuing Education registering for November classes

Registration for Continuing Education classes in November at Central Texas College (CTC) is underway now. A variety of non-credit classes in exercise, business, home décor, cooking and other topics are being offered. Some of the available classes include :

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Temple Library Catalog Goes Mobile

TEMPLE, TX  (October 29, 2012) – As part of the recent upgrade to the Temple Public Library online catalog and circulation software, library patrons can now download a free app for either an iPhone/iPod Touch or an android phone which makes using the library catalog on the go much easier. Judy Duer, Library Director said, “From your phone you can check to see if the library owns a book, book on CD, or DVD, and if it is checked out. If it is, you can even place a hold on it, so you will be notified via e-mail when it is available.” Instructions for downloading the app can be found on the library’s catalog page: www.templelibrary.us.  Duer continued, “You will need a current library card to use the app. It’s great to be able to check if the library has a certain title while standing in a bookstore, or talking with friends.”

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America Recycles Day and Cell Phones for Soldiers

The CITY OF HARKER HEIGHTS is hosting an America Recycles Day Pledge Drive on Thursday, November 15, 2012 at Batteries Plus in Harker Heights (360 W. Central Texas Expressway) from 3pm-6pm. Residents can come out to pledge to recycle,pledge to electronic recycling Melbourne as well for managing waste properly. learn how and what to recycle and play games and win prizes!  Attached is a press release, flier, and how to pledge.

In conjunction with America Recycles Day –Pledge Drive there will be a cellphone drive for “Cell Phones for Soldiers”.    For each cell phone donated at $5 value “Cell Phones for Soldiers” will provide two and a half hours of free talk time to deployed soldiers. The military landscape is ever changing and as many as 369,000 troops are serving in the U.S. military overseas around the world. By donating to “Cell Phones for Soldiers”, residents can provide troops with that precious connection to loved ones back home.

When we recycle, used materials are converted into new products, reducing the need to consume natural resources, if you have waste the you want to get rid of, it would be great to hire the  rubbish removal from junk hunters so that you can give your disposal a good use. If used materials are not recycled, new products are made by extracting fresh, raw material from the Earth, through mining and forestry. Recycling helps conserve important raw materials and protects natural habitats for the future. Dumposaurus Dumpsters & Rolloff Rental provides a best dumpsters services. Thе biggest advantage оf going wіth a professional Junk Removal аnd Dumpster Rental company іѕ thаt уоu gеt tо sit bасk relax knowing thе job wіll bе dоnе right аnd professionally! Thе trick lies іn nоt falling fоr thоѕе fly bу night operators thаt feature cheap prices оvеr thе phone. Thеу mау sound good оn thе line, but thе problems оnlу start whеn уоu end thе саll. Thеу mау nоt ѕhоw uр, thеу mау increase thе price whеn thеу dо соmе оut. If уоu hаvе еvеr moved, thіѕ type оf tactic wіll sound familiar tо уоu. Thеn іt соuld еvеn gеt worse, thеу mау nоt bе insured. Thеу соuld damage уоurѕ, оr уоur neighbors’ property. Thеу соuld gеt injured аnd sue уоu. If еvеrуthіng goes fine аt уоur site, уоur concerns аrе nоt оvеr, whеn thеу leave. Thеn thеrе іѕ thе matter оf disposing оf уоur waste, аrе thеу doing іt properly, аrе thеу adhering tо thе dumping bylaws іn уоur area оr аrе thеу illegally dumping уоur waste аnd junk. A junk service ѕhоuld bе able tо tаkе уоur junk away оn thе spot аnd frоm аnуwhеrе оn уоur property оr home. EZBJR| Debris Removal | Yard waste, This is the best option to remove the junk or garbage.

A good waste removal company wіll schedule thеіr jobs ѕо thеу саn tаkе уоur unwanted goods immediately аftеr providing аn estimate, rаthеr thаn оn a separate occasion. Providing уоu thе convenience оf having thе job dоnе оn thе spot. Fоr уоur protection аnd safety, fіnd a junk removal company wіth trucks аnd employees thаt аrе licensed аnd insured. Confirm thаt thе hauler іѕ licensed аnd insured. Thе hauler ѕhоuld bе fully covered bу workman’s compensation, general liability, аnd auto insurance. Nоt аll junk removal companies hаvе thе necessary experience tо manage уоur junk removal аnd dumpster rental requirements. Fіnd a company thаt hаѕ history аnd whо provide bоth junk removal аnd dumpster rental services. Companies thаt perform bоth services typically hаvе significant knowledge аnd аrе thе best tо help уоu wіth уоur waste аnd rubbish removal requirements.

Recycling reduces the need for extracting (mining, quarrying and logging), refining and processing raw materials all of which create substantial air and water pollution. As recycling saves energy it also reduces greenhouse gas emissions, which helps to tackle climate change. Current UK recycling is estimated to save more than 18 million tonnes of CO₂ a year – the equivalent to taking 5 million cars off the road.

Clearwater’s Annual Water Symposium

The Clearwater Underground Water Conservation District is hosting its 12^th annual Bell County Water Symposium.  This year’s event will be held November 15, 2012 beginning at 8:30 a.m. in the Central Texas Council of Governments Building at 2180 N. Main Street, Belton, TX.  Co-sponsors include Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service; some area businesses; and Bell County.  There is no cost for the program, but please RSVP to Clearwater at (254) 933-0120.

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Understanding Government Contracting & Assembling Technical Proposals

The Central Texas Business Resource Center will conduct a seminar with The Cross Timbers Procurement Center at the Killeen Workforce Center. The session titled Understanding Government Contracting and Assembling Technical Proposals is for anyone wanting to participate in the government contracting process (Commodity, Services or Construction). Government procurement resources are abound on the Internet, but knowing where to look and what to ignore can be an overwhelming and time consuming dilemma for the small business owner. 

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Armed Forces appelate court issues stay for Major Hasan case

FORT HOOD, Texas — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces issued another stay of proceedings Oct. 22 in the Maj. Nidal M. Hasan court martial. 

The CAAF issued the stay after defense counsel for Hasan notified the court last week that they planned on appealing the recent decision from the U.S. Army Court of Criminal Appeals that upheld the trial judge’s ruling that Hasan must appear in court clean shaven.  

The CAAF did not state how long the stay would remain in place, only saying that Hasan’s motion for a stay “is hereby granted pending further order of the Court.”     

The CAAF sits in Washington, D.C., and serves as the highest-level appellate court for the U.S. military.  It provides civilian oversight of the military justice system and reviews appellate decisions from appellate courts for the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard. 

Five civilian judges usually make up the court, however at this time, one of the five positions is vacant.  A former CAAF judge, however, has been designated to sit on the court for the Hasan appeal to ensure five judges in fact hear the appeal.  In August, the CAAF stated:

“In view of the existence of a vacant position on the Court, notice is hereby given that the Chief Judge has called upon Senior Judge Andrew S. Effron to perform judicial duties in the above-captioned case [Nidal M. HASAN, Petitioner v. Gregory Gross, Colonel, United States Army, Military Judge, Respondent], and that Senior Judge Effron has consented to perform judicial duties in said case under Article 142(e)(1)(A)(ii), Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 U.S.C. § 942(e)(1)(A)(ii) (2006).”

The CAAF Web page is available at: http://www.armfor.uscourts.gov/newcaaf/home.htm.

The accused, Hasan, is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.