New Campus Development
By Stan Shelton 

Project Status
Things are going pretty well on the job site.  Our site work team continues to dig the lakes and get the entire site up to its final elevation.  We’re scheduled to drive about 1,700 piles to support the hospital, the support services building and the central energy plant, and so far we’ve driven about 1,200 of them.  Once all of the piles are driven, we’ll install pile caps and grade beams.  In December, we’ll start building the steel structures of the buildings on top of the pile caps and grade beams.  So if you pass by the site in late December or early January, you will finally be able to see the framework for buildings – very exciting stuff!

The weather has been cooperating (no rain days at all in October) and the folks on the site have been working very, very hard.  The other really great news is that with almost 100 people working on site, we’ve gone 150 days without a lost time accident.

The next major step, and I do mean major, is getting played out right now.  The bids on the last and largest portion of the construction are due back on November 25.  We expect them to exceed our remaining budget, so between now and then we’re working to identify ways to get the project back within budget.  In earlier communications, I’ve referred to this process as value engineering, a nicer way to say cutting costs.  More accurately, what we’re doing now should be called making the vision a reality, because nothing happens unless the project is within budget.  I’m absolutely confident that our design and construction teams, supplemented by the thoughtful work of our own staff, will be able to get us where we need to be.  As an organization, we’ve faced down hurricanes, power outages, census spikes, disgruntled family members, changes in regulations, and a ton of other challenges – given our history of overcoming obstacles, dealing with the price of carpet or concrete will be a piece of cake!

Zoning
On October 15, the Metropolitan Council approved our request for rezoning of the entire 225-acre tract at Briarwood.  While we have no immediate plans to begin work on the concepts we’ve developed for the remainder of the property, this zoning change will accommodate those ideas when we pursue them (see last month’s Small Talk for a related article).

Open Office Design
The Steelcase team has been working diligently to design the office and administrative areas to accommodate our move to an open-office environment.  They have already met with most of the departments and will continue those design efforts as well as get with the remaining departments in the very near future.  On October 15 and 16, nine people from Woman’s went to the Steelcase headquarters and two hospitals in Grand Rapids, Michigan to get ideas that we can use at our new campus. The largest single issue remaining to be resolved is how to ensure that we’ll be able to concentrate in an open environment. Steelcase has the capability to help us solve that problem through design as well as the use of technology to neutralize sound.  We’ll share our ideas with you as we move forward with our solutions.

Briarwood Golf Course
Regrettably, George Cascino closed golf course operations at Briarwood on September 30.  George and his team worked very hard to keep the course open as a nine-hole course, but they were unable to attract enough golfers to make the operation financially viable.  George has an auction of various equipment, carts and furnishings scheduled for mid-November at the site.

8-Week Look Ahead

• Process the bids for the remainder of the construction and get the project within budget
• Finish open office design work
• Integrate schedules and work of all project participant groups
• Continue to work on leasing arrangements for medical office building
• Finish site work
• Begin detail design of medical office building
• Prepare for bond issue in early 2009

• Begin development of formal transition plan for relocation to the new campus

If you have any questions or suggestions about the new hospital development, please contact Stan Shelton at stan.shelton@womans.org or 924-8645.

Women's Victory Open A Success

Benefiting breast cancer outreach, education and research at Woman’s Hospital, the tenth annual Women’s Victory Open golf tournament, held Monday, October 20, at the Country Club of Louisiana, grossed more than $135,000.  Since its inception, funds raised have exceeded $700,000, which benefit the women in the Baton Rouge community and surrounding communities affected by this disease. 

Sponsors
“This is such a worthy cause and we could not have reached our goal this year without the support of our sponsors who are committed to helping the women of this community affected by breast cancer,” said Francine Groves, WVO chair.

Capital One and Saia Electric were the presenting sponsors for the Women’s Victory Open.

Early Detection
Proceeds from the tournament, helped to purchase a mobile mammography coach for Woman’s Hospital which provides screenings in high risk, underserved areas. “Early detection saves lives, and our mobile outreach program is truly making a difference in saving the lives of women in our community,” said Lynn Weill, Vice President/Chief Development Officer. “The proceeds from the tournament help to educate women in the community about early detection while also offering screenings for women who need it most.”

And The Winners Are…
The tournament hosted 136 women golfers. Winners of the fierce competition include:

1st Place Gross: Cindy McGourty, Sherrie Boudreaux, Marie Crespo, and Lisette Prieto

1st Place Net: Tammy Trichell, Amanda Rothrock, Debbye Calmes and Jennifer Prudhomme

1^st Place Gross
Marie Crespo
Sherrie Boudreaux
Cindy McGourty
Lisette Prieto

1^st Place Net
Debbye Calmes
Jennifer Prudhomme
Amanda Rothrock
Tammy Trichell

2^nd Place Net
Cindi Dimarco
Amy Furman
Celeste Harris
Jean Sharp

3^rd Place Net
Bobbi Grigsby
Diane Mcgowan
Julie Harrison
Janelle Welchel

Skills Challenge
1^st Nancy Knapp
2^nd Dana Agnew
3^rd Sue Sheets

Straightest Drive
Debbye Calmes

Pretty in Pink Contest
Intertwined with the golf was a little fashion.  The Pretty in Pink contest recognized the ladies sporting the best pink attire. Karen Martin, The Advocate, applied her knowledge from her fashion column, Style File, to judge the contest.

This year’s best ensemble went to Diane McGowan with her pink plaid shorts and pink jacket with stripped lining.  Best single pieces went to Dixie Blue and Kristin Wray for their matching pink floral vests. Best dressed team included Darlene Lee, Pat Klug, Diane Clouatre, and Jenetta Deville with their head to toe pink wardrobe.

Celebrity Putting Contest
Local celebrities were on-hand to help make a difference for the women in the community affected by breast cancer by putting their putting skills to the test. The competitors included Pam Bordelon, The Advocate; Jeanne Burns, WAFB Channel 9; Kristy Davis, WBRZ Channel 2; Teri Fontenot, Woman’s Hospital; and Kianga Kelley, NBC33/Fox44 WGMB.

Last year’s celebrity putting champion and WBRZ Channel 2 anchor, Sylvia Weatherspoon, crowned the new champion – Pam Bordelon, The Advocate, Pam’s Party Line.

Committee Leadership
The 2008 Women’s Victory Open committee was led by Francine Groves, chair, Vickie Theriot, vice chair, Barbara Schwartzenburg, honorary chair, and Scharla Kaiser, immediate-past chair.