beergeek

The main entrance (circle drive off Michigan) will close sometime between March 5 and 15th for 1 year for remodeling. Entrances will be at the Heart Center (Barclay) and HDVCH off Crescent. Should make the Heart Center entrance interesting as Barclay is congested as heck right now, add a bunch of traffic and I wonder how the ambulances are going to get thru. .

Do you mean "start 2 levels below" because of the steep grade of Michigan hill, or that 2 floors' worth of offices will be underground?

I did a search and didn't see this (somebody smack me if I missed it) but on 28th St, in front of Burlington Coat Factory, they're building a Texas Roadhouse. Pretty much your typical Logan's Roadhouse type steak joint, although their rolls are killer. My wife's favorite chain restaurant to boot.

So I dug my camera out last night to try to contribute pictures to the site...only to discover that I can't find my battery charger anywhere So no pictures, but the next phase of steel has gone up seemingly instantaneously. The area to the east of the building (where the patient drop-off is) has gone from nothing to 2 stories of steel just this morning. Extra impressive in 5degree weather!

So can somebody clue me in to what those funny-looking silver projections are that run across the top floor? They really stand out in person against the brownish steel.

You missed my point. You're describing intensive insulin therapy (basal-bolus). The VAST majority of diabetics won't do more than 2 doses of 70/30 a day, or one dose of Lantus a day. They don't count carbs, they check blood glucose once a day if that (and it's random whether it's pre- or post-prandial, so trying to evaluate control with the readings is useless). Those that are dedicated enough to do basal bolus are the easiest to transition to pumps... And I am a doctor (although I'm not a physician...fo' real).

Here's a very brief synopsis: http://www.mayoclinic.org/endocrinology-rst/qanda.html First, pumps are pretty tech-heavy. To make broad generalizations, the elderly or those who are not tech-friendly do poorly. Many people think a pump means less frequent fingersticks but it's actually the opposite - plan on 6+ checks a day for someone on a pump. The person has to be motivated as a pump is labor-intensive, it's certainly easier to do 2 shots of 70/30 a day and call it good. Pump users also have to be able to count carbs, which is difficult for many. But the long-term benefits of glucose control are worth the effort for some. At work, I tend to see the worst cases (average about 3 amputations/week here for uncontrolled diabetics), and God-knows-how-many diabetic neuropathy patients I have per week. Preventative care goes a long ways.....

Wow, harsh. The "children in the hospital" will be best served by the cutting-edge staff and equipment inside the building. I realize that's not the focus of this forum, but the external appearance of the hospital has little to do with providing care for the patients. Feel free to rip on the design for asthetic reasons, but don't imply it has anything to do with neglect of the patients. I'll confess I'm too lazy to go thru all the old posts in this thread but I have some renderings of the lobby, a patient's room, and some other internal stuff. PM me if anyone would like to see them or host them for me.

I hope she's not still using a vial and syringe. http://www.opticlik.com/home.do http://www.insulindevice.com/innolet/features.asp

Huh?

Small update... The main entrance to Butterworth will be completely closed sometime this year (traffic re-routed to Meijer Heart Center and Ransom Ave entrances). The new entrance will have better access and a two-story lobby. Demo of the outpatient ramp is scheduled to be complete by the end of March. Following demo, excavation and construction of a retaining system will begin.

Thanks for the pics, rl! Absolutely love the main lobby. And it's not much like Meijer Heart's healing garden (I actually have pics of that but no way to host them at the moment), which has always underwhelmed me, especially compared to the garden at Saint's cancer center.

The more I look at it, though, the more it makes sense....it looks like one of the new towers mated with one of those GRCC fortresses and had this ugly love child.

I'm not sure where the best place to put this is but rather than start a whole new thread. . . A little birdie told me that the powers that be at Spectrum have agreed to invest $67M in the Blodgett campus over the next 5 years. I have no idea if there's a press release forthcoming or not...but this should lay to rest the constant rumors of Blodgett's demise. Hopefully some of the $$ will go into updating the much-needed-but-horribly-antiquated Burn Unit. On other Blodgett notes....Spectrum (but mainly BL) will be certified as a Join Replacement Center by JCAHO sometime this summer.

Well put.

Guess that's a good problem to have in GR. Deep down inside I knew it must not be new because no one had posted on it. Guess it was approaching the construction site from the west that made it stand out (I live & work east of the construction site). Thanks pops!

Alright, there's a good chance I've just never noticed it...but I think there's a NEW tower crane at the Medical Towers project. There are now 3 - 1 for the cancer center and 2 for the towers (the newest one being further west of the other 2). It has a black base so it really stands out. I looked back at some pictures in this thread and never saw more than 2 tower cranes in a picture...but the fact that no one else has posted this is making me think it's been there for a while and I've just missed it.

Overheard some construction workers talking today...yet another crane will be brought in next Tuesday to finish demo of the parking ramp.

Criminy, I was just going to post something about this but I see I've been beat to the punch. Nice pics, Dad. Still no visible changes from Michigan St, but hoo-boy is Bostwick a mess now. 1 lane total. Here's a stupid question: since this is a LEED building, is the concrete recycled at all?

Small update for everybody...Tentative opening date for Lemmen-Holton Cancer Pavilion is now July 2008. Radiation Oncology will be the first group going live in the new center with the rest of the services trickling in afterwards. Around this time or shortly before, all of the Blodgett's oncology services will be moved to Butterworth, making 5South and then 5North dedicated oncology units (remember, the new Pavilion will not have inpatient rooms) and leaving Blodgett with no oncology services.

Still looks a lot like Sparky's picture in post #329. A few trucks scattered around, a few "workers" standing around and not doing much of anything... There's some concrete derbis piles you can see on the "A" level but still no real obviously visible progress.

As of 9:00 this morning, there are a few pickup trucks and such inside the now-defunct parking ramp. One of the pickups had "Concrete cutting and demolition" plastered on the side of it. Hopefully there will be some action soon.

Has anyone else noticed the new left-hand turn light at Lafayette and Michigan? It's installed but not yet turned on. This should help the ungodly traffic jams that have been occurring daily now that Michigan is down to one lane westbound (not to mention all the other closings in the area).

I walk past it everyday - I haven't noticed anything yet. If they're working, they're being very sneaky. I have yet to see people or equipment inside the fenced-off area.

* Entry into the current outpatient ramp at the corner of Michigan Street and Bostwick Avenue will stop at 5 p.m. Friday, December 1. * Starting Monday, December 4, self-parking for patients will be relocated to the Center Ramp behind the emergency department. Valet service will also begin that day at the Ransom Lobby Entry, on Ransom Avenue and Crescent Street. * Physician and executive parking will relocate to the North Visitor Parking ramp, A-Level. * To make parking available for patients, the staff currently parking in the Center Ramp will move to the North and South Ramps. Affected staff will be notified by security. (Shamelessly stolen from parking memo)