MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII --
Renovations are helping patients get top care starting
from the bottom up at the Kaneohe Bay branch of the Sports Medicine And
Rehabilitation Therapy Center.
The center is undergoing renovations to install new
flooring for patients who are going through physical rehabilitation. The center
is temporarily closed and scheduled to reopen Dec. 3. Crews are currently
tearing out the old carpeting and installing the new surface before moving the
center’s weight machines and other sports therapy equipment back in.
“The matting (will be) similar to what you see in gyms,”
said Petty Officer 1st Class Themygerard Mendoza, leading petty officer for the
SMART Center. “The mats will be sweat resistant and easier to clean when
patients work out. If weights do drop, there will be less impact on the floor.”
The renovations are a joint project using Navy and Marine
Corps funding. Marine Corps Base Hawaii’s Facilities Department is assisting
with removing the old carpet while Navy funds were spent to include the
athletic rubber flooring that will line the top of the new surface. The base of
the new floor will be a vinyl composite tile.
“This kind of flooring has a reduction of the possibility
of infection,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Dionno Walker, work center
supervisor and customer service representative. “This is less porous material,
and we can better protect against MRSA, staph infections and other contagious
diseases. We will be able more frequently clean the new flooring each week.”
The facility serves approximately more than 100 patients
every day it’s open, Mendoza said. The new floor is expected to also reduce
physical stress on patients as they complete their rehabilitation workouts. He
said workout times for each patient vary depending on what they need for therapy
and how long it takes them to complete their prescribed exercises. Physical
therapy sessions can average from 20 minutes to one hour of workout time, and
staff said a new floor would help a patient’s progress.
“The impact of equipment on the floor will be much less
with the new flooring,” said Kevin Maurer, facilities operations specialist for
Naval Health Clinic Hawaii. “The renovations will help reduce the impact on our
floors and a patient’s body to better help their rehabilitation.”
The renovations are one of several changes SMART Center
users can expect. New sports therapy equipment including a rowing machine,
free-motion machine, exercise bikes and a TRX trainer will be available at the
facility in January 2015, Maurer said.
Before the SMART Center temporarily shut down, staff sent
out flyers, emails and contacted patients about the renovation. Patients are
still able to make appointments at the Makalapa branch of the SMART Center
while the new flooring is installed at K-Bay.
When the center re-opens, the facility will still
maintain regular hours on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. or until the last
scheduled patient finishes. Active-duty service members, retirees and other
beneficiaries can get consultations from their primary care giver and then work
to set up appointments at the SMART Center.
“We see a variety of patients at the clinic,” Mendoza
said. “There are people who come in from (post-operation) and those who have
chronic pain. If they have physical muscular-skeletal and joint issues, we can
help with it.”
To schedule an appointment at Makalapa branch during the
renovation at K-Bay, call 473-2444, ext. 94543.