From: Ronnie Smith, Vice Chancellor, Administration and Finance
Subject:  Hurricane Katrina Recovery – Update #12
Posted: March 11, 2006

Just over 6 months from landfall and less than 6 months since the flood waters left our campus the return to New Orleans continues!  We were successful in reopening the upper floors of the Medical Education Building and the Lion’s/LSU Clinic Building on Monday, March 6^th as planned.  Researchers are moving back into their labs, research is restarting, and work is now underway to meet the next major objectives in the recovery effort. 

Accelerated progress on repairs to the elevators in the downtown campus buildings has continued.  Now that most of the parts required for the repairs have arrived, the additional out of state crews dedicated to the LSUHSC repair work are expediting the completion of this work.  The repairs to the emergency power generators that serve the downtown campus buildings are also underway at several of the downtown campus buildings. 

The architect/engineering firm responsible for the Dental School campus completed their 1^st set of specifications for temporary repairs to key building systems; specifically the temporary repairs to the building electrical systems.  Bids were received on March 10^th and they are being evaluated at this time.  An award is expected to be made shortly. 

Work on the initial environmental remediation contract for the CSRB, MEB and Lion’s Eye Center has been substantially completed.  The punch list is being developed now.  The 2^nd environmental remediation contract has now been awarded.  Work crews are expected to begin on Monday, March 13^th in all four of the buildings: the Residence Hall, Stanislaus Hall, the Nursing/Allied Health Building and the Resource Center.   Similar contracts will be issued at later dates to address the Dental School Clinic and Administration Buildings and 1542 Tulane Ave. and other smaller structures.

The following is a brief description of the basic work that will be done by the environmental remediation contractors:

• The environmental remediation process provides for the demolition, removal and disposal of building materials that were flooded or found to harbor mold spores or other biological hazards.   This is in addition to all of the cleaning and disposal of flood damage materials that has already been accomplished through earlier contracts.
  
• The standard protocol for environmental remediation also provides for the cleaning and disinfecting of the interior spaces; wiping down hard surfaces (walls, doors, stairwells, light fixtures, ceilings, etc.), vacuuming, etc.   They will also be replacing filters, cleaning and disinfecting the air handling unit coils and the interiors of air handling units.
  
• On the 1^st floors or in basements where flood water was present, the demolition will typically include removal of drywall to a height of 7 feet, floor coverings as needed (that were not previously removed by an earlier contract), ceiling tiles as needed, etc.  Removal of asbestos tiles and the mastic is also included as necessary.  Floors and solid walls (masonry & granite) will be cored to determine if water penetrated and remediation is required.  Metal studs and other structural walls will initially remain and be cleaned and disinfected.  Many metal studs will require replacement, but that will be done as part of the permanent repairs.  Before the demolition begins, the 1^st floor spaces will be sealed off to prevent migration of any contaminants that may become airborne during the demolition.
  
• When completed, the contract will provide us with unrestricted access to the cleaned spaces in the upper floors, and spaces on the 1^st floors will be clean and ready for the permanent renovation work.

Here are highlights of work that has been accomplished since our last update was posted on Friday, February 24^th.  

• The contract for the second environmental remediation contract addressing the Nursing/Allied Health Building, the Residence Hall, Stanislaus Hall and the Resource Center has been awarded.  Crews are scheduled to begin work at all four locations on March 13^th.
• Most of the repair parts for elevators at the downtown campus have arrived and the permanent repairs to individual elevators continue at an accelerated pace.   Two of the major elevator contractors have brought in additional manpower from out of state to dedicate to completing repairs at the Health Sciences Center.  The elevator contractors continue their work at:
  • CSRB
  • MEB
  • Lion’s Eye Center
  • Nursing/Allied Health
  • Resource Center (two have been certified for use)
  • Stanislaus Hall (work completed on all 4 elevators, and the inspection will be requested shortly)
  • Residence Hall
  • Entergy/Gravier St. Garage

Until permanent repairs are completed and elevators certified by the State Elevator Inspector, routine use has been discontinued.  Restricting the use of elevators in buildings where the environmental remediation has not been completed will help to minimize further spreading of mold to upper floors.

• Work has been completed under the contract to make permanent repairs to the switchgear in the CSRB, MEB, Lion’s Eye Center, Nursing/Allied Health Building and the Residence Hall. 
• School of Dentistry restoration:  Regular weekly meetings with representatives from the architectural/engineering firms, the Office of Facility Planning & Control, FEMA and LSUHSC have continued and will remain as a scheduled item for some time.  
  • The architect/engineering firm responsible for the Dental School campus has completed specifications for temporary repairs to key building systems that, when completed, will allow the re-occupancy of upper floors of the Clinic and Administration buildings.   The repairs will focus on the building switch gear, chillers, key building pumps, clinic systems, and safety systems.  The architects are currently using an expedited procurement process to secure contractors to complete this temporary repair work. 
  • The 1^st of the bid packages for temporary repairs to building electrical systems at the Dental School has been completed and bids were received on March 10^th.  They are being evaluated and an award is anticipated shortly..
• Downtown campus restoration:  Regular weekly meetings with representatives from the architectural/engineering firms, the Office of Facility Planning & Control, FEMA and LSUHSC have continued and will remain as a scheduled item for some time. 
  • The 2^nd environmental remediation contact has been awarded.  It addresses the Residence Hall, Stanislaus Hall, the Nursing/Allied Health Building, and the Resource Center.  Work will begin on all four buildings on March 13^th. 
• Contracts have been awarded for the repairs to various types of pumps to supply water and heat to the Residence Hall, MEB, CSRB, Lion’s Eye Center, Nursing/Allied Health, and Resource Center.  Parts were ordered have begun to arrive on site.  LSUHSC has provided the contractors with the list of priorities by building for these repairs; however the availability of some parts may impact on the ability to strictly adhere to the priorities.
• Contracts to repair the fire alarm systems and their components in downtown campus buildings have been awarded to the vendors who currently provide annual maintenance to the systems.  This approach will insure that the systems can be re-certified and remain under the existing maintenance contract.  Several of the systems have been repaired and inspected and work continues in the remaining buildings. 
  • Stanislaus Hall:  Completed and inspected. 
  • CSRB:  Completed and inspected.
  • MEB: Work has been started and is scheduled to be completed in the near future.
  • Lion’s Eye Center:  Completed and inspected.
  • Nursing/Allied Health:  The contract has been awarded for the repairs to the fire alarm system.  Work is expected to being shortly as parts become available.
  • Resource Center:  The repairs required for the fire alarm system have been identified and the contract has been issued.  Work will begin as parts arrive.
• A contract remains in place to address the repairs to Animal Care cage washers, bottle washers and sterilizers at the CSRB.  The work on the repairs is almost complete.  The steam generators have been installed and the contract has begun troubleshooting the systems.  Additional damage to a pump in the system has been discovered and a Change Order to the original contract has been issued.
• The contract for the repairs to the emergency generators at the CSRB, MEB, Lion’s Eye Center, Nursing/Allied Health Bldg., Resource Center and the Residence Hall has been awarded.  Work has begun on several of the generators, and parts are on order. 
• A contract has been issued for repairs to the medical air compressors, vacuum pumps and water purifiers at the CSRB, Lion’s Eye Center and the MEB.   Parts are on order and repairs will begin as soon as the parts begin to arrive.

We hope that you continue to find this information helpful.  Don’t forget that Daily Updates are also posted on the web site so that you can follow the recovery progress more closely.