Last week I began a new adventure professionally. One I didn’t know or have a choice in participating on. I have been named the Primary IT Contact for the still under construction, Regional Academic Health Center.
The RAHC from what I have been told is being pronounced “rock” by IU Health personnel, is a joint venture between IU Health and Indiana University, my employer. It is a new hospital that is replacing the current one, which exists in a central location. It also houses a building for all of IU’s clinical education units, which I work in.
The buildings sit on the site of the old IU par 3 golf course and driving range.
This opportunity has given me no accolades, no pay raises, no appreciation. It has only given me seemingly incredulous amounts of responsibility that I did not have previously.
I have been kept in the dark on many things to do with this project. Specifically with many things that directly affect my job. To say frustrating is an understatement.
Last week, I took care of a large portion of my newfound responsibility by configuring the computers in each of the general classrooms, sans one of them. I made a friend, who seemed saddened by how disturbed the landscape was changed.
The the task was easy, just overwhelming. Put a new operating system on roughly 20 computers while learning a new building and the technologies put into the building that I had never worked with, or had an opportunity to know about.
That panel gives me some anger. IU is full of red tape and bureaucracy, much like a government is. The official building code for this building is AH, not RAHC. I’m a stickler for detail. I have requested that be changed.
IU Health, is not IU. But this partnership and what is in essence “licensing deal” has blurred the lines for many across the state. There are many who think they are one in the same. It frustrates me on many levels. The president of IU and the dean of the School of Medicine are on the board of IU Health, for which they both get a salary that is along the lines of the median household income level for the area. It’s through these sort of deals that have gotten us to where we are today.
This week, I will have to configure the large room of our building. It can be split into four different rooms and has up to sixteen different configurations. All of these configurations are controlled with a touch panel mounted to a rack in what will eventually be my office.
I’m not a fan of that space as my office, as it offers no security. Others will need access for the functions of that room. I have spoken with the building manager, and there are other spaces that I will be able to utilize that foot the bill.
The largest thing lingering in my mind at this point is how I will handle all of the responsibilities given to me on this building, with all of the other responsibilities I have still in the other buildings I support on campus? All signs point to hiring an assistant in my eyes. My management says “ticket numbers will tell us if you need one.” It’s hard to make numbers when you are spending half of your days driving between buildings however.
Onward and upward? Meh.
