This Week’s Question

I have a question regarding the cafeteria setup. After events, tables and chairs in the rear of the cafeteria are often rearranged but not returned to their original positions. At times, chairs remain in alternate layouts, such as semi-circles, for extended periods. Recently, I observed an elderly individual nearly lose their balance while attempting to move a chair to sit down. This raised some safety concerns. Is there a process or guidance in place to ensure furniture is returned to its standard arrangement after events, so patients and visitors do not need to move it themselves?

Thank you for your question, which I’ve shared with several leaders. Formal events that are arranged through our Department of Administrative Support Services would include setup and breakdown of tables and chairs by our facilities staff. However, especially in high-traffic public areas like the cafeteria, it’s not unusual for “unofficial” or informal events, where people rearrange some tables and chairs on their own, to take place. In those situations, the space is not always restored to how it was, and our facilities staff will take care of it once they become aware of it, which isn’t always right away.

Your concern about patient and visitor safety is valid, and is one reason we all should utilize our room reservation system. When an informal or last-minute gathering comes to be, when finished we should take reasonable steps to restore the space to how it was, to avoid a situation like described in the question.

Thank you for raising this.

 

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