Jeffrey Fluhr passed the first impressions test with flying colors Thursday morning at an introductory press conference at the WaterWalk. He’s smart, vibrant, articulate and has a game plan to pull downtown redevelopment together.
The Wichita Downtown Development Corporation’s new chief spoke with a near missionary zeal about listening to the community and crafting a downtown redevelopment strategic plan that every resident can own.
Including, he said, the city’s growing anti-tax crowd, opposers of everything from the downtown arena to the public-private partnership funding a lot of downtown’s growth. That group, he said, might have ideas to help further the city’s growth plans.
It will be interesting to see if Fluhr can invigorate a dialogue with the anti-taxers – or if he gets swept away in the “no way, no how, no taxes downtown” flood that seems to be developing.
Wesley Medical Center just went mostly private. Via Christi Regional Medical Center is adding more private rooms when feasible (that’s the plan so far with its planned west side hospital). Galichia Heart Hospital is doing it. And now a paper in the Aug. 27 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association is arguing that all hospitals should move toward single, private patient rooms.
Besides the obvious patient satisfaction component, supporters say private patient rooms reduce infections, enhance the privacy of patient information, and promote better sleep and healing.
Say the JAMA authors:
Most modern hospitals have public value statements regarding safety, dignity, privacy, and patient-centered care. A tangible way to show commitment to these values would be to give patients their bed with their own bathroom in a single-patient room.
Yes, it’s more expensive for hospitals, at least at first (One North American analysis found that the cost of a new ward with exclusive single-patient rooms was $182 to $400 per patient, whereas a ward with exclusive double rooms cost $122 to $550 per patient, according to JAMA), but do you think it’s worth it?
Are patients willing to pay the difference in exchange for the value? By the same token, is it cost-effective for mega community hospitals such as Via Christi to convert to all private rooms (something it cannot feasibly do) when it is essentially the safety net hospital that sees a good chunk of this region’s uninsured patients?
Most companies tell their employees some version of “Our employees are our most important asset.” And most employees believe that’s pure bull.
Here’s an interesting piece that provides some basics clues that a company puts its money where its mouth is when it comes to employees, mostly by empowering HR.
Sometimes reporters look at other reporters’ mistakes and say, “There but for the grace of God go I.” Other times, we just say, “Thank God that wasn’t me.” This is one of those mistakes.
Sorry, Dan*, I have to respectfully disagree on the seats at the Sprint Center.
Like just about every other arena and public seating built these days, I found the seating to be ridiculously close and uncomfortable. When I first took my nosebleed seats at the Springsteen show, I panicked that there was so little legroom. I feared my legs would cramp and I’d have to watch the rest of the show standing in the back. There was so little room, we all had to stand every time someone wanted out (and, unfortunately, that was a lot).
Then I snuck down near the stage and somehow scored some awesome open seats, and there seemed to be more legroom. Could just be that we wound up standing half the time due to the excitement of being so close.
I just don’t get why facilities don’t spend a little extra (what’s a few hundred thousand dollars more in a multimillion-dollar project?) to give people comfort. It makes for a much more pleasant show. And, really, over a 20-year lifespan of a venue, give or take, what’s the difference?
* Disclaimer: Dan and I didn’t go to the concert together. However, we did enjoy a nightcap afterwards.
I got a glimpse Sunday of what I hope is in Wichita’s future.
I went to the Springsteen concert in Kansas City. And as excited as I was to see The Boss for the first time, I was almost as excited to step inside the Sprint Center for the first time and to see everything that was around it.
The Sprint Center was pretty incredible. I didn’t really have any complaints, although the seats seemed a little crammed and the sound could have been better. My favorite part of the arena was the QT inside. It was pretty nice to get drinks for a buck when the same size was three times (or more) the price at the concession stand next door.
We also spent considerable time in the Power & Light District before the concert. We walked there from our hotel (about four or five blocks) and had dinner at a neat Irish restaurant. We hit several places in the district, my favorite being Lucky Strike Lanes. I’ve not seen a bowling alley like it before.
I drive by Intrust Bank Arena every day on my way to work. The progress of the building is amazing. I hope the rest of the area will follow.
I’m a big champion of Wichita, but I do have some complaints. For instance, I’m a Coca-Cola girl living in a Pepsi town. (Pizza Hut’s gone, people, let’s move on!)
My other chief complaint is that there are no one-hour dry cleaners here, at least that I know of. Why is this? Did all the cleaners get together and decide against it? Isn’t it possible if one cleaner does it, that business stands to profit from all the last-minute people of the world like me?
Please, someone consider it. I promise to frequent your store and spread the word, too. Especially if you get a Coke machine in the lobby.