More mold. Dr. L. Wayne Capooth, the physician at The University of Memphis Health Center since May of this year, reported seeing and smelling mold in the Health Center to the University Physical Plant in October.
Capooth said the Health Center has “had 15 years of moisture problems.”
Capooth said he felt like he was having health problems from the mold, which is growing because of the heavy moisture.
“I’ve more sinus infections since working here,” Capooth said.
Capooth said employees in the building have also been complaining of headaches, hoarseness and increased sinus problems.
Foam was injected between the bricks and concrete blocks a few years back which helped for a couple of years.
For the last four months, the Health Center has had water problems, which have gotten continually worse.
Puddles of water are in several of the examination rooms and there is visible mold in many of the rooms of the Health Center.
The windows in the entire building were replaced in September at a total cost of $60,000 in order to combat moisture problems. They also cut out a lot of dry wall and painted over the mold on the bottom of windows for aesthetic purposes until they could fix the problems.
“It’s tough to attribute symptoms back to mold; all you can do is take air samples and see if you have a high level of it and if you do, it could cause the symptoms,” Capooth said.
Capooth said that if the mold is not causing the symptoms, it will be soon if it’s not dealt with.
Capooth said that the University has been “more than receptive, outstanding.”
Capooth said that the Physical Plant did moisture samples from the Sheetrock and sample of the mold. They also cultured the mold to see what type of mold is in the building.
Capooth said they found water from multiple sources and that the mold count was too high.
The Physical Plant took immediate action and sprayed in the building for mold, which Capooth said has helped the symptoms he perceives.
The Physical Plant also has long-term plans of getting rid of the mold, which feeds on the dry mold in the dark, moist areas of the building.
They will be replacing all of the bricks on the building starting with the north side over Christmas. They have already bought the bricks and will be spending $90,000 to take care of this procedure. They are also planning on tearing out the Sheetrock and drywall in areas where there is a high content of moisture. The heating and air conditioning units will also be replaced. The underground heating pipes will be dug up and re-worked. They will also spray again once they are finished.
“The University has been great; no complaints whatsoever,” said Capooth. “The University has not tried to hide one thing.”
