Architectural Update
In concert with NOVA’s Vice President, Joseph Nuzzi, Chief Executive Officer, Colette McDermott and President, Charles Kordula the architectural plans for construction of a two-story medical clinic and a 25-person residence with dining facilities and kitchen and are being developed by Mr. Alix Multidor of Port-au-Prince. Several renditions have been submitted for review and revisions have ensued. A conceptual design has finally been defined to everyone’s satisfaction and the second of three phases in the development of final working plans has begun.
The clinic will offer six examining rooms on the first floor as well as a procedure room and a long-term ward room where patients may be monitored or receive IV treatments over a period of hours. The facility is not being designed for overnight stay. A pharmacy dispensary will also be situated on the first floor along with adjacent triage area at the clinic entrance for patient intake and selection of acute and urgent cases. A freestanding large gazebo will be constructed behind the clinic building and attached to it via a roofed breezeway; this will serve as a patient waiting area protected from the sun and the elements. On the clinic’s second floor space will be utilized for both administrative offices and living quarters for the permanent staff that will operate the NOVA center on a day-to-day basis when traveling teams of missionaries are not present. In the future, additional housing will be constructed on the campus and earmarked for this permanent staff, at which time the second floor of the clinic will be dedicated to administrative offices and to house computers and a data bank.
The living quarters for traveling teams of physicians, nurses and ancillary services are being built well back from the road and behind the clinic, separated from it by a dense grove of mango trees. Each of the two floors will be designed with three three-bed suites, a single-bed suite and one two-bed suite; the maximum occupancy will be 24 people. These quarters will have private bathrooms with shower. The dining facility is situated facing opposite the living quarters and will be constructed as a large open roofed patio with columns and an adjoining kitchen. This will be a multipurpose structure that can serve for dining, group meetings and program planning with the rural health agents, midwives and community leaders. Educational courses on basic health issues for community members may be offered here as well.
It is anticipated that the current phase of this architectural work will be completed by November 2008 and that the final tangible draft plans will be ready for construction bidding by February 2009.
