Healthcare in the Borderland

If you live in the greater El Paso/Las Cruces/Cd. Juarez region, it is hard to ignore the expanding healthcare presence. From brand new hospitals, to exponential expansions, to new medical campuses, the impact is already being felt. El Paso presents a very unique environment, being a large border town and sitting alongside a military installation. This presents unique opportunities for research, healthcare delivery, biomedical manufacturing and recruiting advantages.

Medical Center of the Americas Biomedical Research & Technology Park

Key to establishing the park is the development of a biomedical research and technology building, also called "MCA Tech Building." This building will house office suites, principal investigator offices, incubator space, laboratories, core research elements, prototyping laboratories and/or machine shop facilities, and flex space that can be built out for specific tenants’ needs. Tenants may include public, private, for-profit and nonprofit researchers who will be poised to collaborate with regional institutions to discover medical breakthroughs and to move them from "bench to bedside." This state-of-the-art facility will be the first of a series of at least three buildings developed in the research park.

William Beaumont Army Medical Center Replacement Hospital

The $966-million complex, due to open in 2016, is shaping up to be a visually stunning structure that embraces the principles of sustainable and evidence-based design, energy conservation, and green construction while offering cutting-edge, patient-centered care. Think smart-room technology, renewable energy, use of the least toxic materials, natural light, and soothing interiors. Blending World-Class design, evidence-based design, and sustainable design guidelines, and underscoring it all with Sustainable Return on Investment, is a natural fit. These strategies are expected to lead to improvements in patient satisfaction, safety, infection control, and preservation of resources.

University Medical Center—Children’s Hospital

Until November of 2007, El Paso remained the largest city in the United States without a separately licensed facility dedicated to the pediatric population. Today, El Paso Children’s Hospital partnerships with the Medical Center of the Americas, the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and University Medical Center of El Paso enhances the lives of children from the greater El Paso area and surrounding region through its innovative pediatric research and education and serves as a teaching institution. El Paso Children’s Hospital has recruited over 30 Pediatric Subspecialists and is actively recruiting more Pediatric Subspecialists.

Sierra Providence East—Expansion

To meet the area’s growing needs, Sierra Providence East Medical Center is adding to its facilities. The estimates $67 million project, which is expected to ass 145,000 square feet to the existing hospital, is already underway. The expansion, expected to be completed by 2014, will add a four-story second building that will have 30 medical beds and 30 surgical beds. The expansion will also add 12 beds to the cardiovascular intensive-care unit at the hospital’s main building and add 11 beds to the emergency department. Additional rooms will be used as classrooms, a cafe and administrative offices.

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center—Gayle Greve Hunt School of Nursing

In October 2010, the Hunt Family Foundation donated a $10 million gift to the Texas Tech University System. The donation is being used to develop the autonomous, fully-accredited TTUHSC Gayle Greve Hunt SON in El Paso. The Gayle Greve Hunt SON is the second nursing program in the Sun City. It was established to counteract a long-term shortage of nurses who provide care to this medically-underserved area. An influx of approximately 36,000 U.S. Army service members assigned to Fort Bliss (located within the El Paso City limits) over the last three years, has further strained the shortage of nurses. With the increasing shortage of baccalaureate-prepared nurses in Texas and across the country, the Gayle Greve Hunt SON is committed to preparing nursing students to meet the challenges of today's complex health care environment.

 

The aforementioned organizations comprise only a small portion of the medical and health developments that are influencing the Paso del Norte region today. Healthcare proves to be a very sustainable industry that provides high-wage, highly-specialized jobs that directly and indirectly impact the local economy. Facilities Connection acts as a trusted resource to local and regional healthcare organizations to provide integrated, modular interior solutions, both on carpet and off. From waiting rooms, to exam rooms, to executive office, Facilities Connection provides beautiful healing environments in an growing industry. It is no doubt that El Paso is a very exciting place to be now, and for the foreseeable future.

 

Workplace Strategies and the Movable Worker

Traditionally, organizations have equated space performance with space efficiency. Since efficiency usually refers to the number of people per unit of space, it is straightforward to calculate the savings in real estate costs associated with housing more people in smaller and smaller spaces. Since cutting costs never goes out of style — and real estate costs will almost certainly remain high into foreseeable future — this emphasis on space efficiency will continue.

However, this trend may represent an unfortunate emphasis on space performance rather than human performance. Growing numbers of case studies demonstrate that ensuring adequate facilities for the needs of workers almost always pays for itself — usually within the first three years. Perhaps maximizing space performance through minimizing allotments to individual workers negatively impacts the productivity potential of the entire system. Could it be possible that in order to optimize overall output per unit of space, performance must come to mean more than efficiency?

If workers’ health, satisfaction, and performance aren’t sufficient to establish the need for more flexible areas — specified as complete spaces rather than cramped, individual footprints — consider these trends in office systems identified by the Office of Technology Assessment:

1. More work being done on computers and greater distributed data handling

2. Increasing networking among PCs, mainframes, and peripheral systems

3. Enhanced data capture at the point of origin, thus eliminating the need for repeated data entry and contributing to the need for rapid response to dynamic market conditions

4. Improved communication across diverse and distributed sites of data and devices

While these trends may not surprise you, they do paint a picture of continued change and flexibility within office workspaces. Facilities managers will need to do more with less space, increase productivity with decreasing numbers of workers, and support rapidly expanding technology and communications systems — perhaps even functional linkages among remote locations. But remember that maximizing a space means optimizing its output, and assessing that necessarily involves the people who use the space. Minimize what can be minimized, but not at the expense of workers. The modest proposals we have developed here to address and support rapid change constitute a hopeful step toward maintaining America’s corporate competitiveness.

For more information, visit Haworth.com.

You may also contact Hayley Hill at Facilities Connection to get started: hhill@facilitiesconnection.com, 915-834-7125.

 

Our Federal Service Offerings

Here at Facilities Connection, we don’t just provide workplace products, we offer an extensive list of service solutions. We have a long history working with Federal government clients, and because of this, we are able to tailor our services to best meet government needs.

Every Facilities Connection design provides an integrated, sustainable and adaptable workspace solution. But each one does much more, protecting and restoring the environment, creating economic value for the client and strengthening community.

Our customers experience excellent support through continued asset management and our commitment to the U.S. Green Building Council LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design).

We provide installation and support throughout the world; our Furniture Installation and Move Services Department (FIMS) offers logistical support and move management during renovation and relocation. Our highly trained work force and certified furniture installation team stand geared up to meet client needs. Our commitment to technology facilitates dispatching, electronic scheduling, project management, time management, detailed job costing and installation documents.

Should you have any questions, or are in need of services at your facility, please contact either myself:

Office: 915-834-7125

Email: hhill@facilitiesconnection.com

OR Patty Holland-Branch:

Office: 915-834-7107
Cell: 915-726-1522
Email: phbranch@facilitiesconnection.com

R.I.D. vs Interior Design

The practice of interior design is a vastly misunderstood, and unerappreciated, profession. We currently have registered interior designers on our team. In order to clear up some misconceptions, we've turned to the American Society for Interior Designers (ASID) to learn more.

Since Puerto Rico first passed legislation to license interior designers in the late 1970’s, many “myths” have developed about the purpose of interior design legislation. ASID believes that laws, regulation and legislation that allow designers who demonstrate advanced education and code knowledge to open new practice opportunities should be supported. Designers who become registered, certified or licensed do not limit others from practicing but open new areas to the entire profession. This legal process is no different from state regulations for architects, engineers, accountants or the hundreds of other professions that are subject to professional licensure regulation.

Myth:

Interior design is a purely aesthetic talent that deals with colors, fabrics, finishes, and furniture. There are no technical aspects of interior design.

Fact:

Interior design is an evolving profession includes many technical aspects. Individuals working in residential settings must comply with state and local building codes. While individuals working in more heavily regulated spaces such as office, hospitality, health, education and retail must comply with building and energy codes, indoor air quality and the American’s with Disabilities Act requirements, among other health and safety issues.

ASID supports the efforts of individuals to become recognized as certified, registered or licensed interior designers thorough the passage of state legislation. We urge chapters and coalitions to advocate for legislation that places no restriction on the use “interior designer” but does allow a pathway for creating expanded practice opportunities including full stamping, signing and permitting privileges.

The Science of Underfloor Air

So the topic keeps coming up: underfloor air. What's it all about? Why should we do it? What's it gonna cost? According to Haworth, here are some things you need to know about underfloor.

For a floor to truly support a workspace, it has to do more that just sit there. As technology and tenants change, underfloor air distribution keeps the building fresh. Popular in Europe and Japan for many years, underfloor air distribution is now making inroads in North America. As raised access floors become a preferred means of delivering voice, data and power, developers recognize the added value those floors can provide as a means of air distribution. Underfloor air technology can improve indoor environmental quality, reduce construction and operating costs, and boost productivity by giving occupants greater control over their environment and their comfort.

In a conventional system, conditioned air is introduced from or near the ceiling and mixed completely with room air to avoid drafts. Complete mixing of the supply and room air creates near-uniform temperatures throughout the space. With an underfloor system, the cavity created by the installation of the raised access floor is used as a supply air plenum. Conditioned air is introduced to the occupied space through floor outlets. The floor outlets, or "diffusers," are designed to rapidly mix the conditioned air with the room air. Rather than being forced, the new air rises naturally, carrying heat and pollutants upward and out the ceiling air return.

Conventional System

Underfloor Air System

At first glance, raised floors may appear to be slightly more expensive than conventional floors. But when you use the space below the floor for air distribution and power and data cabling, the apparent cost premium vanishes. In fact, overall cost per square foot for an access floor-based system may be as much as two dollars less than conventional construction.
- No steel beam penetrations for ductwork are required.
- Lower fan static pressures and reduced airflow requirements mean smaller supply and exhaust fans.
- Since conditioned air moves in the cavity between the raised floor and floor slab, nearly 90% of ductwork is eliminated.
- The little ductwork that is used doesn't need to be insulated. That's because conditioned air is isolated in the floor cavity, rather than sharing the ceiling cavity with warm return air.

The life cycle cost of savings associated with the reductions of churn costs can often pay back the initial investment in a raised flooring system within a few years.

Studies have shown that improved indoor air quality can mean lower absenteeism and higher productivity. Concentrations of carbon dioxide, airborne bacteria and off-gassing contaminants in spaces served by underfloor air systems are typically much lower than those served by overhead systems.
- Occupants have greater control over the temperature within their space, so complaints about comfort nearly disappear.
- A continual supply of clean, newly conditioned air is introduced directly into the occupied zone where people breathe.
- Conditioned air is not blown down from overhead as it is with conventional systems, so it doesn't pass through (and mix with) the stale air and contaminants that collect near the ceiling.

This information presented by Haworth is only the tip of the iceberg, so to speak. For more information, or to have a formal presentation provided to your company, please contact us here at Facilities Connection!

Hayley Hill
915.834.7125
hhill@facilitiesconnection.com

Cubicle Curtains!

So here's the deal: we have a bunch of cubicle curtains for sale. They have never been used and come in various sizes and colors. This is basically the Facilities Connection version of a liquidation sale!

Contact Bonni Harris for more information: 915-833-8303 or bharris@facilitiesconnection.com

First, a little about us...

Here at Facilities Connection, we strive to stay ahead of the curve. More and more, we are seeing the demand for lean construction. We believe in the process of lean construction which is the off-site assembly of various products. Lean construction is concerned with the holistic pursuit of continuous improvements in all dimensions of the built and natural environment. Part of the lean construction process is modular construction. This philosophy allows not only sustainable first-time construction but also flexibility for future moves, adds and changes.  Benefits include lower construction costs, lower cost per reconfiguration of whole facility, and lower energy costs.


We don't just sell office furniture, we integrate and collaborate. We work with manufacturers that  offer future assurance and non obsolescence guarantees. We understand your future needs, and can even draft future moves and reconfigurations for you. Here at Facilities Connection, we don't offer furniture, we offer solutions. It is our goal to be a trusted advisor to our clients.