March 26, 2007 – Staff of the Maternal and Child Health and the Children with Special Needs Program at Charles Harwood Complex engaged in a sit-in work action Tuesday morning, largely to protest having to share office space with the Community Health Clinic.
Acting Health Commissioner Phyllis Wallace said she will come to St. Croix Tuesday to meet with workers and staff at the complex.
"We were already scheduled to be on St. Croix Tuesday to meet with Trane of Puerto Rico regarding the center’s air conditioning as part of our mold-remediation work," Wallace said.
Officials will listen to concerns briefly on Tuesday, then sit down longer the next day and work to come up with a plan to at least alleviate the situation at the maternity program. Wallace mentioned the possibility of changing the scheduling of staff to lessen the crowding over the course of the day.
"We are here to rectify the situation and to address the needs of our clients and our staff," she said.
"But the clinic is no worse off than two weeks ago when we spoke to the Senate," Wallace said. The mold issue, while not solved, had been lessened greatly since the primary outbreak last fall.
The maternity program was moved into the community health clinic after mold became a serious problem last September. Charles Harwood’s dental clinic ceased oral surgery and all invasive dental procedures at that time out of concern for the possible increased risk of infection from airborne mold spores.
A general cleanup was done and a remediation plan begun, but as yet there is no contract in place nor expected date for completion.
The mold problems identified in the MCH offices, as well as the dental clinic, were discussed earlier this month at a meeting of the Senate Committee on Health, Hospitals and Human Services. Rodney Richards, assistant director of dental health services at Charles Harwood, testified at that March 9 hearing. (See "Health Building Plagued by Health Hazards, Officials and Staff Say.")
"On Sept. 11, 2006, my staff and I began to notice the evidence of mold …," Richards told the committee. "Clients seeking services at our clinics began to routinely complain of coughing, itching, laryngitis, chest tightening and wheezing. Additionally, dental staff members have sought medical treatment from symptoms of mold exposure."
The Department of Health ordered a mold inspection by ADCON Environmental. Several types of mold known to cause irritation and sometimes severe allergic reactions were found in the facility’s air, in ceiling tiles, growing on moist surfaces and in the drywall, according to a summary of the report given to Charles Harwood staff. Monday morning Harwood staff members were unwilling to show the original report without permission from Wallace. Late Monday afternoon, Wallace said she had instructed staff members to allow the public to view the document.
Because of the appearance of the mold problem, the Department of Health acquired permission from the Public Finance Authority to divert $1.6 million from its Phase III renovations at Charles Harwood toward mold remediation, repair, cleaning and maintenance of the air-conditioning unit, Wallace said at the hearing. Before proceeding with either the mold remediation or Phase III of renovations, Wallace said, the Department of Health needs about $2 million in additional funding from the V.I. government.
Once funding is in place, one vendor had estimated 6 to 8 weeks for the actual work, Wallace told the committee. At that time, only one estimate had been given, which is not sufficient for the normal procurement process.
"We have two cross estimates right now for Property and Procurement to examine and act upon," Wallace said Monday. "We’re moving as quickly as we can on this."
Monday's sit-in had more to do with crowding than mold, she said.
"The staff’s issue today, as I understand, has to do more with the sharing of space they’ve had going on since the fall," Wallace said. "We are working to find adequate space to move MCH into."
She apologized to anyone inconvenienced by the issues.
"The larger issue, however, is the 200 clients we serve on a daily basis," Wallace said. "We want to apologize to the public for the inconvenience and we also empathize with the frustration shared by our staff over the space constraints, and are working to rectify the situation."
Staff members from the maternal-health program said the space sharing interferes with their ability to serve clients. They needed to draw attention to the problems or else they might languish indefinitely, staff members said. Dental clinic staff expressed similar frustration with the situation.
"At the end of the day, we are here to serve the community, and if we are not able to rectify the situation, we cannot serve the community," said Luis Llanos Jr., a dental technician at the complex.
The Department of Health is advising patients of the MCH and CSN to reschedule their appointments. Call (340) 773-1311, Ext. 3159 or 3161.
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