UW Health Services Expansion | 8 m | 2 fl

[UrbanWaterloo]

UW Health Services Expansion
Estimated Project Budget: $7.75 million
Estimated Project Size: 20,000 sq. ft.
Architect: Kearns Mancini Architects Inc. (http://www.kmai.com/) in association with John MacDonald Architect (http://www.johnmacdonaldarchitect.ca/)
Website (https://uwaterloo.ca/health-services/news/health-services-expansion-project) | Student Space (http://www.studentspace.uwaterloo.ca/index.html)

http://wonderfulwaterloo.com/wdrive/Developments/Waterloo/UW/UW%20Health%20Services%20Expansion/UW%20Health%20Services%20Expansion%20-%20Rendering%20-%20Top%20View%20R2.jpg

http://www.studentspace.uwaterloo.ca/_images/health.jpg
Building will not be exactly as shown
http://www.studentspace.uwaterloo.ca/index.html

[Spokes]

. . . and expansion of health services

“University of Waterloo students have consistently indicated their desire for enhanced space on campus,” the web site says. “In the 2008 National Survey of Student Engagement, the top response for what needs to be addressed outside the classroom was more study space, while the expansion of support services and a better social environment ranked in the top five.

“Understanding that these concerns would only become greater as the student population grows over the coming years, the developers of the updated Campus Master Plan recommended that a new campus life centre is required on the South Campus to meet the growing demand for facilities.

“Representatives from the Federation of Students and the Graduate Student Association approached the University administration in 2008 about collaborating on and sharing the financial costs to make this project a reality. This specific proposal was developed over the past year by these representatives and tried to address current space limitations and enhance areas of student concern.”

It says the location on parking lot H “was deemed ideal for many reasons. Its prominent location at the front of campus near several major bus routes, the primary student parking lot, and the probable location of a rail station for the Region of Waterloo's new rapid-transit line are obvious advantages. The location is also at a central position between multiple faculties and near many existing campus life functions. More functionally, the location allows for the preservation of current green space, is one of the few available locations on campus with easy road access for delivery of food and retail supplies, and can be constructed with little disruption to current campus functions. Locating the Student Service Complex at the entrance to the University also demonstrates to everyone coming on campus that students are the highest priority at UW.”

The Student Life Centre “will continue to be the 'living room' of campus and the hub of student life,” the site notes. As for the Schweitzer farmhouse, currently the Graduate House, it will continue to be available to the GSA at least until the lease expires in 2017.

Meanwhile, the Health Services project is designed to expand a 1968 structure built when UW had a third of its present enrolment. “An addition to the building and renovations are necessary,” says the web site, “to create the physical environment needed for modern health care delivery within the Canadian health care system, which is very different than it was 40 years ago. To efficiently and effectively provide the services our students need the Health Services building must be significantly larger and structured to work well with electronic medical records and spaces to utilize a broader spectrum of health care professionals.

“Additionally, UW has a growing number of students with children and families that cannot be treated in Health Services because of the size of the facility, lack of equipment and spaces suitable for children and Health Services' primary mandate to focus on adolescent/young adult medical issues of registered students. UW doctors and nurses simply do not have what they need to provide paediatric and obstetrical services.”

The expanded building would provide a “new state-of-the-art medical clinic”, the capacity to add other health care professionals, an expansion of mental health services and other features. “Without the expansion, this is what we can begin to expect: doctors working in suboptimal conditions; unable to serve the current registered students in a timely way; waiting list becomes progressively longer; students are to seek care off campus, urgent cases referred to other community clinics.”

http://www.bulletin.uwaterloo.ca/2009/sep/30we.html

[Spokes]

Passed! Great news.


FEDS Referendum Results
Students Vote For Health, Vote Against Student Space & Media

By Adriana Cameron, Marc Tan, Matt Casswell

At noon on Friday November 13, the Great Hall of the Student Life Centre was filled with anticipation as students gathered to hear the results of the three recent undergraduate FEDS referendums. The referendum voting period opened on Monday November 9th and closed on Wednesday November 11th. The three referendum topics were a $49.50 fee increase to fund the proposed Student Services Complex, a $10.00 fee increase to fund a Health Services expansion, and a proposed $2.50 fee that would support the operation of 100.3 SoundFM. FEDS President, Allan Babor, and Referendum Committee Communications Delegate, Matthew Waller, announced that the fee increase for the Health Services extension had passed whereas the Students Services Complex and the 100.3 SoundFM fee failed to pass.

Health Services Expansion

The Current Health Services building, constructed in 1968, was built at a time when Waterloo had only 9,000 students on campus. Originally, it was planned that the building would have only 3 doctors, available by appointment only. Since 1968, Waterloo has grown to 27,000 students with 5 doctors, handling over 50,000 scheduled students appointments every year.

The proposed expansion would feature a walk-in clinic with extended hours, nurse counselling, outreach to the Schools of Architecture and Pharmacy, a psychologist, and an expansion to increase nurse prep area and general space. The proposed expansion would triple the space available in the building from 10,000 square feet to over 30,000 square feet.

In the FEDS Referendum, the Health Services Expansion was the only one that passed the vote. The referendum question asked “Do you support the addition of $10.00 to the Student Coordinated Plan fee to contribute to the proposed Health Services expansion?” Out of an eligible 25,177 voters, 2567 voted "Yes", 1641 voted "No," and 114 declined to vote. That means that about 10% of the student population voted in favour of the expansion, 6.5% voted against the expansion, and about 83% of students did not vote.

[UrbanWaterloo]

UW Graduate Student Association

Referendums Winter 2010
http://www.gsa.uwaterloo.ca/referendum/

Results:
HEALTH SERVICES -
YES: 916
no: 429
...
Both referenda achieved quorum so both results are binding, pending ratification at a General Meeting.

Referendum 2010
The GSA will be holding two separate referendum votes concurrently between March 1, 2010 at 9am and March 4, 2010 at 11:59pm.
Health Services Referendum Information (http://www.gsa.uwaterloo.ca/referendum/health)
...
A link to the electronic ballot will be placed on this site shortly before voting begins.


Graduate Student Association Health Referendum

YES Committee (http://www.gsa.uwaterloo.ca/referendum/health/health-referendum-yes-page/)

The GSA is holding a referendum on the issue of the proposed health services expansion.

The dates and times for voting on the question shall be from March 1, 2010 at 9am until March 4, 2010 at 11:59pm.

All students that will potentially be affected by the referendum are eligible to vote, that is, full and part-time graduate students on Kitchener-Waterloo campuses of the University of Waterloo. Voting for the referendum will be conducted online.

The question is:
“Do you support the proposed Health Services expansion through the addition of a non-refundable $10.00 per term fee, to a new Student Coordinated Plan fee, provided that the expanded facility allows for improved care for students as well as care for families and dependents of registered students? This fee would be paid with tuition each term, implemented once the expansion opens to students (estimated 2011-12), would be terminated upon completed payment of the graduate portion of the capital costs (estimated at 20 years), would be indexed for inflation by up to 2.0% per year, and would be paid by each full-time graduate student on Kitchener-Waterloo campuses of the University of waterloo; part-time graduate students that attend Kitchener-Waterloo campuses of the University of Waterloo will pay 30% of this fee.”

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Chief Returning Officer, David Wheatley, via dmwheatl@engmail.uwaterloo.ca

The Proposal
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa262/AndrewEH/UW/GraduateStudentAssociationHealthRef.jpg

Without GSA support for Health Services expansion, this is what we can expect:

new expansion will be constructed within the financing permitted by the endorsement of the undergrad population and the medical clinic will be moved into the new space
the present Health Services building will not be renovated and the space required for children and families will not be created – the clinic for dependents of students will not open
an understanding will need to be negotiated with the undergrads to permit the grad student population to access the medical clinic in the new facility
if unable to reach an agreement with the undergrads, then the graduate students will access health care in the original 2 doctors’ offices with two exam rooms located in the old building
renovation of the present building will be done if and when the grad students endorse the project and at that time the family clinic would be opened in the grad students clinic
the scaled down expansion will place limitations on space which will impact decisions regarding location of Health Promotion, mental health services and other health care professionals

Additionally, Health Services hopes to expand its services in the following areas:

Expansion of mental health team through supervision of PhD candidates and students training as psychologists (may not be possible without grad support)
Links with Centre for Mental Health Research, Family Medicine residents training under Dr. Heintzman’s supervision to enhance mental health services at Health Service (may not be possible without grad support)
Create Health Psychologist Assessment Centre to accept referrals from Counselling Services and OPD
Introduction of therapeutic groups (may not be possible without grad support)

For more information, please visit http://studentspace.uwaterloo.ca/healthservices/index.html

[UrbanWaterloo]

Board considers Health Services expansion
UW Daily Bulletin June 1, 2010 (http://www.bulletin.uwaterloo.ca/2010/jun/01tu.html)

http://www.bulletin.uwaterloo.ca/images/2010/0601healthserv.jpg

A $7.75 million project to expand the landmark Health Services building beside Laurel Creek will come to the university's board of governors for approval this afternoon.

The project has already had an okay from students in separate undergraduate and graduate referendums during the fall and winter. Students agreed to pay for the project through a $10-a-term fee for 20 years starting when the construction is finished.

"Undergraduate and graduate students, together with professional staff from Health Services, will participate during the design phase," says a report to the board from its building and properties committee.

The existing building (left), designed by renowned Canadian architect Raymond Moriyama, was constructed in 1968, "when UW had only one-third of the students it has in 2010," the committee's report says. "Each year, Health Services provides over 50,000 scheduled student appointments.

"Since the building expansion will be located in the flood fringe along Laurel Creek, UW previously engaged Stantec Engineering to work with the Grand River Conservation Authority to confirm the acceptability of the location and preliminary flood-proofing requirements."

Among other items coming to today's board of governors meeting for approval:
...
An increase in the "Federation of Students Administered Fee", covering health and dental insurance and the transit U-Pass, from $135.14 per term for regular students ($208.98 for co-op students) to $148.13 ($226.84), effective in September.

...
The board meeting starts at 2:30 p.m. and will be held in room 3142 of the Centre for Environmental and Information Technology.

[UrbanWaterloo]

University of Waterloo Board of Governors
BUILDING & PROPERTIES COMMITTEE: Report to the Board of Governors
October 26, 2010 | A47 (http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infosec/governance/Board/20101026oagbog.pdf)

1. Health Services Building Addition

Motion: That the Board of Governors delegate authority to the Building & Properties Committee to approve the appointment of the architect for the Health Services building addition. Congruence with 6th Decade Plan: attract excellent students, student engagement through health/wellness services.

Risk: 20-year compulsory student fee is insufficient to cover capital costs plus interest (low probability).

Background: Both the Federation of Students (representing full-time undergraduate students) and the Graduate Student Association (representing both part-time and full-time graduate students) have completed successful referendums approving the collection of a $1 O/term fee from full-time undergraduate and graduate students and a $3/term fee from part-time graduate students over 20 years to fund this project. The fee commences once the building expansion is ready for occupancy; the fee will be indexed annually by CPI (to a maximum of 2 percent/year). Similar to the existing Health Services building, operating costs (maintenance and utilities) for the expansion space will be covered through the Student Services Fee. At its June meeting, the board approved the $7,750,000 budget for this project. Because the university will be in a position to appoint an architect between the October 2010 and February 2011 board meetings, and so this project may proceed without delay, the committee is requesting the above delegation of authority.

[UrbanWaterloo]

Project Updates
UW Health Services | Link (https://uwaterloo.ca/health-services/news/health-services-expansion-project)

December 21, 2011

Final renderings of the Health Services expansion have arrived! High resolution images are available:
Top view image of the Health Services expansion project (http://info.uwaterloo.ca/infoheal/_healthservicesexpansionproject/Images/UW-Health%20Services%20View02-12-12-01_Reduced.jpg)


http://wonderfulwaterloo.com/wdrive/Developments/Waterloo/UW/UW%20Health%20Services%20Expansion/UW%20Health%20Services%20Expansion%20-%20Rendering%20-%20Top%20View%20R.jpg


Front view image of the Health Services expansion project (http://info.uwaterloo.ca/infoheal/_healthservicesexpansionproject/Images/UW-Helath%20Services%20View01-12-12-01_Reduced.jpg)


http://wonderfulwaterloo.com/wdrive/Developments/Waterloo/UW/UW%20Health%20Services%20Expansion/UW%20Health%20Services%20Expansion%20-%20Rendering%20-%20Front%20View%20R.jpg
October 31, 2011

Construction is starting soon. Passersby are noticing the progress on the new parking space for the physicians which is located along the roadway from Westmount Road into Health Services, Renison and St. Jerome's. On Friday, October 28th, the red maple tree, planted in memory of Dr. Don Nelson, was carefully relocated to stand with other red maples at the creek's edge. The transplantation of two ash trees next to the walkway by the parking lot was also accomplished, which a crowd gathered to enjoy watching big machinery at work.


December 15, 2010

In November, FED and GSA representatives together with Health Services staff representatives met to review submissions from over 40 architectural firms interested in our Health Services expansion project. Five firms were selected for interview and we are pleased to award the project to the successful team of Kearns Mancini Architects Inc. (http://www.kmai.com/) in association with John MacDonald Architect (http://www.johnmacdonaldarchitect.ca/) and the Resource Planning Group (http://rpg.ca/).

Our first workshop, facilitated by the design team, was held on December 9th. Our challenge was to generate project objectives, guiding principles and common vision. Our group of ~20 discovered that we shared many ideas such as patient centred care, efficient medical practice, patient privacy and ease of way-finding, welcoming spaces with flexible use, respect for our natural surroundings, building presence from the ring road and sustainability. As the architects explained, their purpose in these initial meetings is to come to know and be guided by our values and priorities. With this foundation of understanding well developed, the design process can begin.

[UrbanWaterloo]

December 6, 2012

http://wonderfulwaterloo.com/wdrive/Developments/Waterloo/UW/UW%20Health%20Services%20Expansion/UW%20Health%20Services%20Expansion%20-%20December%206,%202012%20-%202b%20R.jpg

http://wonderfulwaterloo.com/wdrive/Developments/Waterloo/UW/UW%20Health%20Services%20Expansion/UW%20Health%20Services%20Expansion%20-%20December%206,%202012%20-%203%20R.jpg

http://wonderfulwaterloo.com/wdrive/Developments/Waterloo/UW/UW%20Health%20Services%20Expansion/UW%20Health%20Services%20Expansion%20-%20December%206,%202012%20-%205%20R.jpg

http://wonderfulwaterloo.com/wdrive/Developments/Waterloo/UW/UW%20Health%20Services%20Expansion/UW%20Health%20Services%20Expansion%20-%20December%206,%202012%20-%206%20R.jpg

[markster]

Definitely a desperately needed project. It's a shame that the students had to foot the bill!