About 30 people attended Friday morning’s Perry Chamber of Commerce coffee at the Dallas County Hospital. The event was the opening bid in the Chamber’s effort to revive one of its more popular activities by giving it a basis in information and networking.
“I’m happy with the turnout and excited to see this program come back,” said Perry Chamber Executive Director Bob Wilson. “Everybody loves fresh pastries — I know I do — and also likes a chance to catch up on what everybody else is doing.”
The congregation began with a round of introductions, but the centerpiece of the coffee klatch was the announcement of a major remodeling project planned for the Dallas County Hospital’s second-floor atrium area.
Hospital CEO Angela Mortoza outlined the project, describing the wellness education room planned for the upper floor’s west side. The wellness education room will be wired as a virtual smart room, allowing both for internal educational programming — such as staff training — and for use by outside groups.
Even with a ground-floor conference room and the basement community room, the hospital often finds itself squeezed for space when it comes to educational programming, Mortoza said. The upper-atrium floor will accommodate DCH’s growing role as an information provider.
The upper floor’s east side will be occupied in part by Senior Life Solutions, a company offering an intensive, outpatient group counseling program for individuals over age 65. The service provider helps people deal with emotional or behavioral issues often related to aging.
The West Des Moines architectural firm Shive Hattery Inc. designed the second floor improvements, and Badding Construction of Carroll will do the building. Construction will begin Feb. 1 and is expected to wrap up by the first week of June.
The Walk with Ease program and other senior walking services will be temporarily limited by the upper-floor construction project, as DCH Support Services Director Julie Smith explained Wednesday to a small group of seniors who attended a briefing on the project.
Smith said the ground floor and first floor walking routes will remain available for use by exercisers.
