Pulse

Volume5/1989_November22U Readies for Primary Children's Opening PULSE UNIVERSITY OF UTAT HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER November 22, 1989 When the new Primary Children's Medical Center opens in February, traffic to the northeast corner of the University of Utah campus is ex-pected to increase significantly. State and city engineers and campus planners, meanwhile, are taking steps to alleviate possible congestion. " We welcome Primary Children's to the university campus and look forward to a close working relation-ship with the pediatric hospital," said University Hospital Executive Director George W. Belsey. Projected completion of the new Primary Children's Medical Center is mid- December, according to spokesperson Sandra Wilkins. On Feb. 26, patients will be moved from the old hospital to the new facility. A series of public open houses for the new center will be offered in January and February, Ms. Wilkins said. No one knows for certain, but various projections indicate that traffic to the northeast quadrant of the university will increase by between 4,500 and 5,000 round trips each work day when Primary Children's begins operation. The opening of Primary Children's also will mean an increase in air ambulance traffic to the area. Each year, an estimated 1,000 helicopter flights will touch down on Primary Children's rooftop helipad. Flights approaching or leaving Primary Children's and U Hospital will continue to use a flight path that runs northeast- southwest over the campus to reduce the noise in nearby residen-tial neighborhoods. " University and hospital planners and administrators are aware of potential traffic and noise problems associated with the opening of Primary Children's. We continue to study ways and to work with every-one to minimize the impact of these activities on the university and our neighbors," Mr. Belsey said. " The education, research and patient care benefits of having Primary Children's part of the health sciences campus are obvious to everyone. We want to make sure any practical problems associated with the move are solved or alleviated to the greatest extent possible," Mr. Belsey said. One of the first traffic projects will be to extend an existing traffic island on North Campus Drive eastward to prevent left turns from and onto Federal Heights Drive. The existing island was placed at the intersection of Wasatch and Penrose drives during the 1970s to prevent through traffic from crossing North Campus Drive. The traffic island should take some of the pressure off residential streets and divert it to the major thorough-fares such as 1st and 4th South streets and Foothill Boulevard, which are equipped to handle larger volumes of traffic, says Steve Meyer, deputy transportation engineer for Salt Lake City. Another traffic improvement will come in the form of a traffic light at the intersection of Wasatch and Medical drives, just south of the old fire station. The traffic light has been approved for fiscal year 1990 and likely will be installed next spring, says John Leonard, district traffic engineer with the Utah Department of Transporta-tion. The Wasatch Drive sema-phore- which will cost about $ 75,000- is sixth in priority on a list of 31 traffic lights planned for the greater Salt Lake area this year. A light at that intersection should help prevent accidents incurred by southbound Medical Drive vehicles trying to turn left onto Wasatch Drive. According to Mr. Belsey, plans are under way to study the possibility of placing another traffic light at the intersection of North Campus and Medical drives. He also said planners are considering building a sidewalk along North Campus Drive to ensure safer pedestrian access to the two hospitals. continued on back No Excuses! The Top 10 Reasons for attending this year's Holiday Dinner: 1. Judy Tuckey, holiday committee chair, will arrange to have coal put in your stocking if you don't come to the Dec. 14 event. 2. You will be dining on Neptune chicken and prime rib, with all the trimmings. 3. You will learn the winners of the decorating contest. 4. It's being held in three sessions to accommodate employees from all shifts. 5. Great entertainment will put you in the mood for snow and holiday celebrating. 6. Door prizes and turkey certificates will be given away. 7. The cafeteria will be decked out in its finest decor. 8. You will be visited by your favorite Disney characters. 9. Bah humbug attitudes are not in fashion this year. 10. It's free. PCMC Opening Cash in on Your Holiday Creativity continued from front The opening of Primary Children's also will bring increased bus service to the University Health Sciences Center. It is hoped that increased availability of bus service actually will reduce traffic, as more people use the bus instead of automobiles. Randy Park, traffic planner for Utah Transit Authority, says two existing UTA routes will be extended to include stops at U Hospital and the new Primary Children's. The routes are # 1 ( 9th Ave.) and # 2 ( 6th Ave.). Both routes currently serve the old Primary Children's Medical Center. UTA routes # 3 and # 89 will continue their service to U Hospital, with an added stop at the new Primary Children's. To accommodate the increased bus traffic, the intersection at Medical and North Campus drives is being redesigned. The grade at that location is too steep for the buses, Mr. Meyer said. Some health sciences parking also will be affected by the opening of the new hospital. About 200 parking spaces on Medical Drive will be eliminated, permitting left turns from U medical center's west parking terrace. With the opening of University Hospital's north terrace earlier this year, however, the health sciences campus has more than adequate parking. That situation will be enhanced when a third terrace, now under construction, opens the summer of 1990, according to officials at University Parking Services. According to Ms. Wilkins, Primary Children's- with more than 1,000 parking spaces of its own- antici-pates no problems accommodating patients, staff and visitors. An additional parking structure has been planned as need arises at Primary Children's. Both medical centers are looking at the possibility of staggering shifts as another means of easing traffic congestion on the U health sciences campus. Hey, you medical center mouseket-eers, it's time for the holiday decorat-ing contest. If you haven't heard, this year's theme is " Disney Holidays." Get busy creating your own magical kingdom. Official entry forms will be delivered to each department next week. Judging will take place on Dec. 12., with winners announced at the Holiday Dinner, Dec. 14. Prizes will be awarded in five categories: sweepstakes, most holiday spirit for the least cost, most original, best use of theme and most artistic. For more information, call DeeLayne Hutton, x2282 or Iola Child, x2248. A Christmas stocking contest is new this year. The stockings will be displayed in the case outside the In keeping with the spirit of Turkey Day, Pulse asked people in Wasatch Spectrum cafeteria last week what they are thankful for. Here's what they said: " I'm thankful for my health."- Angie Moon, pharmacology/ toxicol-ogy. " Just thanks to God for everything."- Manzar Tabarestani, medical tecnology student. She added that Thanksgiving was a pleasant surprise when she moved to the United States from Iran. " It's a nice day to remember." " My husband. He's always there when I need him."- Linda Tucker, medical records. " Health, my wife, and I'm grateful to be here in the United States."- Carlos Sanchez, ophthalmology. " My house- it keeps me warm."- Deona Decker, medical records. " I'm thankful for where I work and the people I work with." Dot Maxfield, volunteer services. " I'm just thankful for the wonder-ful weather we're having."- Janis Griffith, dean's office. " Just to be in a free country."- Gail Snow, anatomic pathology. " The Berlin Wall is coming down."- Julian Maack, medical illustrations. cafeteria for medical center employ-ees to judge. Prizes will be awarded for most original, funniest and sweepstakes winners. Stockings must be handmade and cannot exceed 12 inches. The stockings are due Friday, Dec. 8, to Julie Romans, cashier's office, and will be on display Dec. 11- 15. The stockings will be returned, so please include your name, department and extension. In addition, tree ornaments are being sought to decorate the tree for the cafeteria. If you have anything worthy of donating, you can drop it off at the cashier's office, graduate medical education, the engineering trouble report desk or with Helen Openshaw at Northwest Pipeline. " I'm thankful for the energy and support of the strategic planning team for the Robert Wood Johnson grant."- Susan Beck, nurse re-searcher. " That the joint commission will be gone by the time Christmas comes."- Stacey McLean, nursing quality assurance coordinator. " I'm grateful God blessed me to be pregnant through the winter rather than the summer."- Patty Earl, medical illustrations. " Frozen yogurt."- Jean Zancan-ella, nutrition care services. Medical Sounds The Blue Healers, a band featuring University Hospital talent, will take the stage Dec. 2 as the main attraction for the Utah Nurses' Association fall fund- raiser. The concert/ dance will be held 8- 11: 30 p . m. in the Salt Palace, suites J-K. Members of the band include Doug Hasbrouck, M. D., Perry Fine, M. D., John Rask, M. D., Jill Richardson, R. N., Michael Bolz, Ph. D., Jeff Carlstrom, Kevin Morgan, D. C., and Jim Corpuz. For ticket information, call the UNA office, 322- 3439. Health Sciences Folks Full of Thank