Posts Tagged ‘Abbott Northwestern Hospital’
Allina Builds Abbott Northwestern Hospital Utility Plant Before Getting Air Emissions Permit
Public Comment Period on Permit Opening this Fall Abbott Northwestern Hospital's Central Utility Plant under construction at E 26th Street and Chicago Avenue. According to MN Rule 7005.0100 Subp. 3a, activities that should not be started before an air emissions permit is issued include “installing building supports and foundations, laying underground pipework, and constructing permanent storage structures.” Photo by Ben Heath By LINDSEY FENNER If you’ve driven on E 26th Street through Phillips this past summer, you’ve likely gone past the construction site at 26th and Chicago where Allina Health is building a new Central Utility Plant for Abbott Northwestern Hospital. Besides the traffic headache this has created, the bigger problem is that Allina has started construction on the utility plant before getting the final air emissions permit from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA). Allina Health, which owns Abbott Northwestern Hospital and has their corporate headquarters in the Midtown building in Phillips, applied for the required amendment to their existing air permit in February 2021. In their application, Allina acknowledged the need for the final permit before construction on the new facility could begin. According to MN Rule 7005.0100 Subp. 3a, activities that should not be started before a permit is issued include “installing building supports and foundations, laying underground pipework, and constructing permanent storage structures.” In an interview with MPCA air permit engineer Jeff Hedman, who has been working on the draft permit, said he had not been aware that Allina had started construction of the utility plant until it was brought to MPCA’s attention by the alley. They have referred the issue to their enforcement staff and would not comment further. According to Hedman, “Enforcement decisions are made on a case-by-case basis depending on the facts of the situation.” MN Rule 7005.0100 Subp. 3a states that [...]
New Pollinator Plantings Beautify Neighborhood and Decrease Erosion on Abbott Northwestern Hospital Campus
Photos taken by the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization (MWMO) A wildlife-friendly landscaping plan is part of Allina Health’s multi-year infrastructure project at Abbott Northwestern Hospital that benefits the environment and pollinators By DAVID JOOS Allina Health is showing its commitment to sustainability in its multi-year infrastructure project on the Abbott Northwestern Hospital campus in the Midtown Phillips Neighborhood of Minneapolis. As part of the project, Allina Health is transforming the campus with a new Surgical and Critical Care Pavilion and a new Transportation Hub. With the help of a Mississippi Watershed Management Organization (MWMO) Action Grant of $50,000, Allina Health planted native, pollinator-friendly plantings in May 2022 along the Transportation Hub’s 5,000-square-foot slope near the Midtown Greenway. The new pollinator habitat includes carefully selected plants based on their bloom time and ability to grow well and prevent erosion on a steep slope. “I am happy that we were able to make the landscaping at the Transportation Hub more sustainable by planting pollinator plants with much deeper root systems that reduce stormwater by reducing erosion. As a health care system, taking care of our environment is a responsibility that is critical to ensuring good health for Allina Health patients, employees and our community,” said Suzanne Savanick Hansen, Allina Health sustainability manager. Allina Health’s sustainable landscaping plan that covers the slope is also made possible through a partnership with pollinator experts from the University of St. Thomas. These pollinator experts worked closely with Allina Health and the MWMO to review the plantings and will conduct pollinator plant surveys on the slope for the next two summers. “This was a great project using native landscaping to prevent slope erosion and create a more connected habitat along the Greenway that links the chain of lakes to the [...]
Random alley news April ’22
By LINDSEY FENNER Allina Proposing a New 10-Story Surgical Care Center at Abbott Northwestern Hospital All Youth Programs and Sports Are Free This Summer at Phillips Parks: The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) has made activities free for ages 17 and under in Minneapolis neighborhoods within “census-designated Areas of Concentrated Poverty (ACP).” This includes activities in East Phillips Park, Phillips Park, Peavey Park, and Stewart Park in the Phillips neighborhoods. Other area parks with waived fees for youth include: Central Gym, Elliot Park, Painter Park, Powderhorn Park, Whittier Park. The program applies to 17 parks throughout Minneapolis through at least the end of 2022. The funding for this project comes from a gradual increase in the Park Board property tax levy and City of Minneapolis allocations from the American Rescue Plan Act, the COVID-19 Stimulus funding passed by the Biden administration in 2021. How it Works: Visit minneapolisparks.org/register to browse all MPRB programs online via the ActiveNet platform. People can also drop by or call their local recreation center to ask about upcoming programs and sign up. Youth program registration will be free for anyone with a Minneapolis address on their ActiveNet account at one of the 17 sites. Allina Proposing a New 10-Story Surgical Care Center at Abbott Northwestern Hospital: At the February 24 City of Minneapolis Planning Commission Committee of the Whole meeting, Allina presented a proposal for a new 10-story “surgical and critical care pavilion” along with changes to traffic access to the hospital campus. The new building, located in the middle of the two-block hospital campus between approximately Chicago and 10th Avenues, and 26th and 28th Streets, adds approximately 500,000 sq ft of space. This building project is in the preliminary stages of City approval. Allina will need to complete an environmental worksheet and traffic study and go through a [...]
Unfair Labor Practices strike at Abbott Northwestern Hospital on October 5 and 6.
SEIU Healthcare MN members went on a two-day Unfair Labor Practices strike at Abbott Northwestern Hospital on October 5 and 6. Striking Radiology Technologists at Abbott have been bargaining with Allina Health since May. Among other issues, SEIU members are fighting for the same COVID-19 quarantine pay and benefits as other workers at Allina. Photo Courtesy of SEIU Healthcare MN
The Backyard Initiative: What It Is and Why It Exists
The Backyard Initiative is a dynamic partnership between Allina Health and its neighbors to improve health and health care in the seven communities immediately surrounding Allina Commons, Abbott Northwestern Hospital and the Phillips Eye Institute. The Backyard Initiative supports efforts to strengthen community health by empowering residents to draw upon their own knowledge, skills, and cultural values to care for themselves, their families, and their neighbors. Research shows that social conditions”“ including isolation and a lack of social support ”“ have a profound impact on our health. By partnering the expertise and resources of health care institutions with the wisdom and experience of residents, The Backyard Initiative is exploring a new dimension to a health care system that will focus on promoting health in addition to treating sickness. Beginning in 2008, Allina partnered with the Cultural Wellness Center, a community nonprofit organization in South Minneapolis, to facilitate the community engagement process. The Cultural Wellness Center has a long history of engaging community residents to improve health through self-study, surfacing and producing knowledge, cross-cultural knowledge exchange, and relationship building. Early in the process, the CWC led a process that engaged residents in developing a definition of health, a definition that became the foundation for The Backyard Initiative.
