
DATE: Thursday, October 2, 1997             TAG: 9710010177

SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS         PAGE: 06   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: COVER STORY 

SOURCE: BY JOAN C. STANUS, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:  107 lines

RUNNING OUT OF SPACE A NEW $30 MILLION PUBLIC HEALTH BUILDING IS IN THE WORKS TO REPLACE THE CURRENT FACILITY, WHICH IS OUTDATED AND OVERCROWED.

BACK IN 1960, when city and state officials moved into the newly constructed Norfolk Public Health Building, a prime concern was vaccinating against polio.

Today, they're faced with desperately ill AIDS patients, frightening infant mortality rates, burgeoning caseloads, a barrage of medical breakthroughs and computer technology that seems to change almost daily.

Their mission may be the same - protecting the public's health - but the conditions and responsibilities faced by doctors, nurses, health inspectors, field biologists and researchers are far more complex and specialized in the 1990s than they were 35 years ago.

Now ``seriously overcrowded and outdated,'' the Colley Avenue building is simply unable to continue meeting those needs, despite two renovations during the '70s, contend city officials. Retrofitted laboratories, electrical systems and other infrastructure from the '60s no longer will handle the demands of the job.

This fall, after almost a decade of planning and budgeting, the city at last will begin construction on a new $30 million Public Health Building. At 197,000 square feet, it will more than double the existing space for Norfolk's array of city and regional public health services.

``Forget looking at the last 30 years,'' noted Brian Townsend, manager of the development services bureau for city planning. ``Their caseload, workload and technology has changed dramatically in just the last 10 years. We looked at making more additions and renovations, but the way the building was designed - and especially looking at the infrastructure - it just wasn't feasible. We had come to the point of needing a new facility.''

Groundbreaking for the new building is slated for mid-October on the site of a Medical Center parking lot at south Brambleton Avenue. The property is adjacent to Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters' Neuro-Development Center and the Eastern Virginia Medical School's Diabetes Institute. It also is just across Brambleton Avenue from the existing Public Health Building.

Until recently, the property was owned by the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority, which leased the site to EVMS for parking. In a ``land swap,'' NRHA agreed to give the city title to the property in exchange for ownership of the existing public health facility site. The housing authority plans to eventually lease the property to the medical school for parking.

Construction of the new public health building is expected to last two years. By December 1999, officials hope to be settled into the new quarters and ready to open their doors for business.

``We're very excited,'' admitted Dr. Valerie Stallings, Norfolk's public health director. ``This new building should be much more supportive for the services we do . . . and increase our space significantly. It's designed to improve our community service by giving us the infrastructure and technology to support our activities. That's pretty important.''

In addition to the Norfolk Public Health Department, the building will also be home to the state's Division of Shellfish Sanitation, the Tidewater Regional Medical Examiners Office and state Forensic Department.

``The medical examiner is the one we're really concerned with having more space,'' said Stallings. ``Their current situation is way inadequate for what they're doing. They're really cramped . . . and have a serious need for things like freezers and coolers.''

Dr. Leah Bush, deputy chief medical examiner for the Tidewater district, concurred.

``Right now, we're very, very crowded,'' she said. ``We've got a doctor working in a file closet.

``Two members of our clerical staff are sharing the same work space, the morgue is extremely cramped, and we're completely out of storage space.

``Moving into the new building will be like night and day. It will be a tremendous asset to us.''

Although the exterior design of the building has not been finalized, the interior will consist of five stories of offices, laboratories, clinics and other functions. Plans call for the first floor to house most of the public services, including health clinics, permitting services and the medical examiner's offices. Administrative offices and laboratories will be housed on the second and third floors, and the fourth floor will be occupied by state forensic personnel.

The fifth floor will be set aside for biomedical research conducted by Medical Center scientists who receive outside grants.

Included in the building's design is a pedestrian bridge that will span Brambleton Avenue.

Townsend estimates at least 150 employees will work in the building, although many more - such as public health nurses and extension agents - will be home-based there. Hundreds of members of the public will likely visit the facility daily, he added.

The city is financing the design and construction of the facility through bonds issued by the Industrial Development Authority. City officials plan to pay off the bonds with income from a 20-year lease agreement with the state. When the lease expires, the state has the option to purchase the facility for $1.

``At that time, we'll evaluate where the public health function will be,'' explained Townsend. As we have learned, over time things change - sometimes very quickly. I suspect things will change ever more quickly for public health in the future.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos including color cover by BETH BERGMAN

Dr. Leah Bush, chief medical examiner, does her work in a lab that

has become inadequate for the caseload.

Architect's sketch shows the design planned for the new Public

Health Building on Brambleton Avenue.

Staff photo by BILL TIERNAN

Dr. Elizabeth Kinnison, assistant chief medical examiner, sits at

the desk in the chief examiner's office. Some of the clerical staff

share an office in the crowded building, the morgue is cramped and

the the storage space is full,