For many people, change is hard. But some things are not meant to last a lifetime.

For example, the cells that line your stomach can renew as fast as every two days, since they’re often in contact with digestive acid. Cells that make up your skin are replaced every two to three weeks. As the main protection against the environment, your skin needs to be in top shape.

Red blood cells, meanwhile, last for about four months. White blood cells, the main players in  fighting infections, can last from a few days to a little over a week. In contrast, your fat cells live a  fairly long time — an average age of 10 years. (Dang!) The bones in your body also regenerate about every 10 years.

In other words, change can be good!

Trinity Health’s Healthcare Campus and Medical District (HCMD) consists of the new Trinity Hospital and Medical Office Building (MOB) and is scheduled to open in late April. The MOB sits to the north of the hospital and will soon be home to over 60 providers formerly located in various clinics. Practices relocating to the MOB were chosen based on providers who required access to surgery and  inpatient locations in the hospital. Corridors connecting corresponding MOB and hospital departments ensure quick, efficient movement between buildings. For example, all Ob/Gyns are relocating to the third floor of the MOB, which is connected to Women’s & Children’s Services – located on the third floor of the
hospital.

Arrival Time vs. Appointment Time

If you’ve ever traveled by airplane, you are familiar with different timelines, such as arrival time, boarding time and flight time. One time indicates when you arrive at the airport, another time is when you are allowed on the plane and the third time listed is when you leave the ground. If for some reason, you arrive late and miss your boarding time, you are not allowed to travel and must reschedule. This policy keeps things on schedule throughout the entire system.

This is the same mindset you should practice when traveling to your doctor appointment at the MOB. Trinity reminders gingerly suggest patients arrive 20 minutes ahead of their scheduled appointment, but that would be your boarding time, and not necessarily when you’d want to arrive.

Consider that the MOB is further south than any of Trinity’s current locations, which may increase travel time. There will be ample parking, not necessarily offering first row, front door access. Additionally, a new feature of the MOB will be centralized registration for all appointments – much like an admitting department in a hospital. When you arrive for your appointment, you’ll need to check in at the central registration area on the first floor prior to proceeding to the doctor’s office. This registration process should be factored into your arrival time. Just like at the airport, once you’ve checked-in, you must find your gate, which in this case is your provider’s office on another floor. Traffic, time of day and office location influence your lead time required to check in.

Patients who have appointments with providers in the MOB will be reminded of the new location through many communication venues. These will include letters, postcards, advertising, social media, texts and emails.

“This is an exciting time for Trinity and for the community. We will do our best to remind everyone of the move, so you arrive at the correct location on the right day. Not all providers will be moving at the same time, so if you aren’t sure where your appointment is located, don’t hesitate to call the appointment line,” advised Renda Wilson, physician services director.