Burst pipes and flooding interrupted business at the Student Health Service center last week. The center is located in the lower level of Penn Tower at 300 S. 33rd St.
Patients were cleared out and the center's services were temporarily suspended when latex residue began seeping into the walls and ceilings of the reception area last Wednesday afternoon.
"We diverted students for 10 to 15 minutes," SHS director Evelyn Wiener said.
Once officials had determined that the entire area was safe, patients were allowed to re-enter the facility via a back entrance. Several corridors in the building were subsequently recarpeted.
SHS has been undergoing renovations throughout the summer to add four new patient-care rooms to its facilities. Directly overhead, the University Health Care Systems has been constructing a new radiology lab for Penn Tower.
Wednesday's accident was a result of floor tiles being laid just above the Student Health Service building.
The multiple projects led to numerous episodes of flooding and leakages in the SHS building during the summer, resulting in the closing of patient rooms and relocating an insurance office and the offices of several medical assistants.
"We've been in close quarters to begin with," Wiener said.
The proximity of the construction work to the health-care facilities led the center to take extra precautions in preventing dirt from entering the building. Blue plastic screens have been used to separate the examination rooms from the construction area and to keep the center sterile.
Wiener, however, said that the the health center's inconveniences were routine to any facility undergoing a renovation.
The center has been fully operational since Wednesday's glitch.
-- Rezwana Khan
