More New Hospital Move-In Stuff

I spent several hours last evening in frustration over malfunctions of Facebook, trying to upload some photos of the move prep activities. I finally got them up, and the power went off, and with it our internet access! My next job planned was to write a little something for the blog, but I couldn't.

There is a lot of activity related to the new pharmacy. Most of the shelving from the old pharmacy is being reused in the new one. That presents interesting logistical problems, because the old pharmacy has to keep functioning. The most-used meds are still on shelves in the dispensary, but lots of the less-used stuff is in boxes piled on the floor of Pharm 2 (the large storage and sorting room) while the shelves are being dismantled and then rebuilt in the new place. They are repainting them as they go, so they will really be like new.

Today (Wednesday) is my "half-day." That is a day when we are able to work at home (or at lease out of the hospital) on whatever administrative or catch-up tasks we have. Given the number of docs we currently have compared to the number of available exam rooms in OPD, we have usually been leaving the hospital after morning rounds. These past few weeks, most of us have been using that time for work on preparation for the move. Several have spent time in Pharm 2, sorting medicines, discarding the ones that we really won't use, etc. We don't want to have to move a bunch of stuff that will be thrown out eventually anyway!

Erin has been doing some carpentry work, among other things. Yesterday she helped with moving shelving. She looked right at home with a skill saw or a screw gun!

Today I will be using this time to serve as Judy's go-fer. I know that there is an exam table to be fixed, but I don't know what else. I'll have a camera with me, so I should have plenty to share by this evening. I don't know where I'll post the photos, since Facebook is functioning so poorly at the moment, but I'll put them somewhere so you can all see them.

Please keep praying for us as we move closer to the move next week. If I haven't made it clear, here's the schedule. Starting Wednesday, 4 November, we will close the old Outpatient department. We have been avoiding telling anyone to come back for follow-up for the affected days. Wednesday will be spent (after rounding on our wards) on work related to the move. Then on Thursday, 5 November, we will round on our wards, evaluating each patient for moving. Any who are critical, we will plan, along with the nursing staff, the best way to get them moved, and then during the day help with moving them to the new wards. By then the wards should be set up with all the supplies and medicines needed to care for them there. Then Friday will be available for working out problems that we discover with the actual move, and finishing details for the new OPD. Then on Monday, 9 November, we will open the new OPD. We know that we will discover problems and challenges as we go along, so please be praying about that.

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I did get those photos uploaded last evening. You can see them here.