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ISSUE JANUARY 2004 

NEWS2USE

OFFICE OF RESEARCH SERVICES

THE NEW YEAR BRINGS A

NEW WAY TO ENTER THE CAMPUS

NIH PERIMETER SECURITY PLAN – 

NEW PEDESTRIAN ACCESS GATES MAP

WALK THIS WAY: PEDESTRIAN SAFETY TIPS

NIH POLICE THEFT REPORT

BULK PURCHASING = COST SAVINGS

TECHNOLOGY ENABLES ACCESS

TO OVER 4,000 JOURNALS

R&W GIFT SHOP OPENS IN ROCKLEDGE I

NEW PARTS, LESS TIME IN LINE

BUILDING 38 DINING CENTER RENOVATION

NEW CREDIT UNION ATM 

PLANNED FOR OUTSIDE BUILDING 50

INTERPRETING SERVICES AND SIGN LANGUAGE

INTERPRETING SERVICES SCHEDULING NOTES

PLAY IT SAFE WITH SPACE HEATERS

A REMINDER ABOUT THE NIH 

CHILD CARE WAITING LIST SERVICE

NIH RECOGNIZED AS

“BEST WORKPLACE FOR COMMUTERS”

NIH SHUTTLE SCHEDULE NOW

AVAILABLE FOR BLACKBERRYS

THE NEW YEAR BRINGS A

NEW WAY TO ENTER THE CAMPUS

The construction of the fence surrounding the NIH

Bethesda campus is nearing completion. Once finished

the fence will include eight vehicle/pedestrian access

gates and nine ‘stand-alone’ pedestrian access gates.

All of the vehicle access gates will have a 

security guard presence, and pedestrian access will be

available during business hours.The other nine pedestrian

access gates are stand-alone gates that do not require a

security guard.“Once the fence is completed and the

gates are in operation, we can rely more on electronic

access security systems rather than having a guard 

present at each post,” says Arturo Giron,Associate

Director, Security and Emergency Response.

“The pedestrian access gates, or portals, will be

equipped with an electronic security system allowing all

NIH employees entry just by waving their NIH ID

badge in front of a card reader,” explains Giron.

For added security, the pedestrian only portals

were designed such that once an NIH employee waves

the ID in front of the reader, they open the gate to an 
NEWS2USE

NIH PERIMETER SECURITY PLAN – NEW PEDESTRIAN ACCESS GATES MAP

The map below shows the stand-alone pedestrian access gates around the Bethesda campus.

33

31

Natcher

45

MLP-6

MLP-8

CLINICAL

CENTER

10

NLM

38

MLP-10

Pedestrian Gate

Vehicle Gate

Pedestrian Fence

Vehicle Barrier

PG

PG

PG

PG

PG

PG

PG

PG

PG

PG

37

40

N

Center Drive

South Drive

Lincoln Drive

Center Drive

South Drive

Wilson Drive

West Drive

49

36

PNRC

50

1
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ISSUE 5 JANUARY 2004 

3

entryway where they wave their ID

card in front of another reader and

then enter the campus.“This additional security measure will prevent

any piggybacking and help ensure

only those who are authorized gain

entry,” says David Chung of the

Division of Physical Security

Management.

The electronic systems for

pedestrian ientrances will be fully

operational by this Spring. Until

then employees will be able to manually open the gates to enter and exit

the campus.

INFORMATION 

David Chung

301-496-6893

PEDESTRIAN-ONLY ENTRANCES

CEDAR LANE:

•West Drive

•Garden Drive

OLD GEORGETOWN ROAD:

•South Drive

• Northwest corner between Center

Drive and Cedar Lane

•Lincoln Drive (just south of)

SOUTH END OF CAMPUS:

•Near Building 14 Trailers

•Between 41 Lots and MLP-7

ROCKVILLE PIKE:

•Two entrances, one on each side 

of the planned Visitor’s Center near the

South Drive entrance (Metro)

VEHICLE / PEDESTRIAN

ENTRANCES

OLD GEORGETOWN ROAD:

•South Drive

•Lincoln Drive

•Center Drive

CEDAR LANE:

•West Drive- Patient and Patient 

Visitor vehicles only

•Pedestrian access open to employees 

ROCKVILLE PIKE:

•North Drive

•Wilson Drive

•South Drive

•Center Drive

WALK THIS WAY:

PEDESTRIAN SAFETY TIPS

In Montgomery County, too many

pedestrians have been killed last year

while they were just crossing the

street to go to school, to work, and

even to the NIH Film Festival at

Strathmore Hall last summer.The

advice we all received as children to

look both ways still applies, maybe

more than ever with so many people

distracted by cell phones and stress.

The NIH Police offer the following

safety tips:

÷ Walk on the sidewalk

Stay within the crosswalks and on

the sidewalk. Don’t walk in the

traffic. On roads that don’t have

sidewalks, walk facing the traffic.

÷ Cross at intersections

The most common way for a

pedestrian to get hit by a car is

when crossing the road at places

other than an intersection.There

is a temporary, painted crosswalk

area at South Drive by the Metro

vehicle inspection tent due to the

Shuttle Loop construction.Two

flashing traffic lights and stop signs

have been installed there for your

safety.

÷ See and be seen

Drivers need to see you to avoid

you. Stay out of the driver’s blind

spot.Wear bright colors or reflective clothing when walking at

night. Carrying a flashlight is also

very helpful.

÷ Finally, remember the 3 “C”s that

will help to keep you safe:

• Courtesy

• Common Sense 

• Caution 

NIH POLICE

THEFT REPORT

The following is an overview of 

theft violations that have occurred at

NIH since the September 2003 issue

of The Antidote newsletter was 

published.Antidote information and

reports will now be part of the ORS

News2Use.

From these reports it is obvious

that in many cases simply using locks

– on office doors or drawers – would

have kept the property safe.

THEFT OF PERSONAL PROPERTY

• Hand cart stolen off of a truck parked at the

east loading dock – Building 10

• Two rings stolen from conference room. One

is diamond valued at $1000 and one is a floral

design valued at $400 – Building 10

• $40 and a credit card stolen from wallet left in

office.The area was unattended and left unsecured at the time – Building 10 

• Sony CD player and numerous CDs stolen

from employee’s personal vehicle.Valued at

$1,680 – MLP 8

• Power tools stolen from toolbox left unsecured

at construction site – Building 30

• Wallet containing money and credit cards

taken from a backpack left in an unsecured

and unattended office – Building 10

• Blank checks (13) stolen from office desk –

Building 31A 

• Black leather backpack stolen from unlocked

office desk drawer. – Building 10

• Nikon camera, two lenses and camera case

stolen from personally owned vehicle.Total

value $685 – Building 5 loading dock

• Man’s silver wedding band ring, valued at

$500, stolen from car glove compartment. -

31B parking lot

• Two $20 bills and 6 Metro fare cards stolen

from women’s locker room.Total value $172.

The owner had left the locker door open and

departed the area for 2 hours. – Building 10

THEFT OF 

GOVERNMENT PROPERTY

• Honda generator, valued at $1095, stolen from

mechanical shop. – Building 13

• Blackberry PDA stolen from office desk. It

had been left overnight and was missing in the

morning.Valued at $400 – Building 13

• View Sonic flat screen 15” computer monitor

stolen from equipment room.The room was

not secured at the time – Building 37

• Mac G4 Titanium laptop computer stolen

from an unlocked file cabinet – Building 10
4

NEWS2USE

5

BULK PURCHASING =

COST SAVINGS

The Division of Veterinary

Resources (DVR) continues to look

for ways to streamline procedures

and processes to improve service and

reduce costs.As a result they found

that consolidating purchases for

caging, carts, and ancillary equipment produced significant savings.

DVR consolidation of purchases

resulted in 27 percent savings in

2002 and 23 percent in 2003. In 

dollar figures, for FY 2002, the 

savings by ordering bulk was

$229,174 and in FY 2003, $108,687.

There were more orders placed in

FY 2002, which accounts for the

higher savings in dollars that year.

Combining orders for all of

DVR buildings provided concentrated

buying power based on volume.The

centralization of the ordering process

encourages vendors to provide the

most competitive pricing available

and potentially attracts a wider 

variety of companies willing to 

present quotes and do business with

the Federal Government.

Consolidation of purchasing

reduced by half the number of 

purchase requisitions, significantly

reducing paperwork, labor and

effort, and time for both the

Government and the vendor.An

added benefit for the vendors is to

receive a single prompt payment.

The ability to modernize

equipment allows the program to

stay current with technology, meet 

the principal investigator’s needs,

and better support the NIH mission.

Keeping current technology is costly

but necessary. By consolidating purchases the savings allowed DVR to

stretch their budget further and to

acquire additional needed items.

Further, standardizing caging and

equipment between buildings reduces

space required for storage for each

facility since there are fewer types of

equipment that need to be stored

separately. Standardization of caging

and equipment also allows DVR to

shift equipment between buildings in

the event of an emergency.

INFORMATION

Eileen Morgan 

301-496-9055

TECHNOLOGY ENABLES

ACCESS TO OVER 4,000

JOURNALS

Gone are the days of braving the

weather to get that much needed

journal article by closing time at the

library. Now over 75 percent of the

NIH Library’s journal collection is

available online.What this means is

that you have access to over 3,000

full-text journals online, 24/7, and

electronic options for ordering and

receiving the additional thousand or

so journals only available in print.

Whether you are gathering information for a paper or searching for a

supporting citation to debate a 

conference colleague, the Library has

you covered.Your access is practically

seamless onsite, or offsite with a

Parachute or VPN account. For more

information about remote access

registration read the Center for

Information Technology’s web page:

http://remoteaccess.nih.gov/.

Journal titles cover major topics

of concern to NIH researchers.Visit

the Library’s Online Journals page:

http://nihlibrary.nih.gov/secure/ 

onlinejournals.shtm to link to journals

alphabetically by the first letter in

the title.Additional journals are

available through vendor packages

listed on the right side of the Online

Journals page. If you need an article

from a journal not found in the

NIH Library’s collection, don’t fret –

make an online request. Detailed

information about document delivery

options can be found at:

http://nihlibrar y.nih.gov/About/

articlebookordering.htm.The

Library staff is committed to getting

you the information that you need.

Ninety-six percent of journal article

requests are filled within three working days and delivered to your office

or lab.The default delivery method

is as a PDF document via your NIH

e-mail address. For special circumstances, discuss your needs with a

document delivery specialist by 

calling 301-496-4651.

In the article “Print to Online:

Making the Transition,”(http://nihlibrary.

nih.gov/Secure/printtoelectronic.htm),

Library Director Suzanne Grefsheim

discusses key points guiding NIH

Library staff as they make choices of

journal titles and formats for the

Library’s collection. How to suggest

that the Library purchase a new

journal subscription is also covered.

Please contact Mrs. Grefsheim by 

e-mail at sg8d@nih.gov or by phone

at 301-496-2448 if you would like to

explore these or other issues further.

INFORMATION:

Cindy Clark

301-496-2186
ISSUE 5 JANUARY 2004 

6 7 8

R&W GIFT SHOP

OPENS IN ROCKLEDGE I

On October 28, the ORS Division

of Employee Services, along with the

NIH Recreation and Welfare

Association and its Board of

Directors, celebrated the relocation

of its gift shop and service center to

the Rockledge One building in the

Rock Springs Cluster of NIH.

Grand Opening events included a

ribbon cutting, door prizes, giveaways,

and food specials and demonstrations

in the adjacent NIH Dining Center.

The new space is adjacent to the

Breakaway Cafe on the 4th floor of

6705 Rockledge Drive, convenient

for employees within the Rock

Springs cluster for purchasing gifts,

greeting cards, videos, photo processing, and other items and services.

Open Monday through Friday from

9:00 am to 3:45pm, the store is

designed to assist employees with the

latest items for their gift giving

needs. Purchases from the R&W

stores contribute to the success of

the Children's Inn, Camp Fantastic,

and Friends of the Clinical Center.

As always, questions, comments

or concerns about this and other

programs of the ORS Division of

Employee Services are welcome.

These programs include child care,

sign language interpreting services,

food services and retail services.

INFORMATION

ORS Division of Employee Services 

301-402-8180 

NEW PARTS,

LESS TIME IN LINE

The Division of Travel and

Transportation Services (DTTS)

implemented a new Parking and

Transhare System (PARTS) on

October 24, 2003.This system serves

the DTTS as the new software 

solution for the administration and

management of the Parking and

Transhare Programs. One great

improvement is the use of your NIH

ID badge — instead of the old NIH

Commuter Cards — to retrieve your

Transhare subsidy.The new system

has reduced the time it takes to serve

customers by 50 to 75 percent.

Gary Freeman,Traffic Management

Specialist, presenting a gift to Donna

Pearman, our first Parking and Transhare

customer using the new system.

The NIH Parking Office

Building 31, Room B3B04

Open 7:30 am to 4:30 pm

Temporary parking permits are 

available from 6:00 am to 7:30 am at

the NIH Police Desk, Building 31,

Room B3B17.

There are two R&W Store

Metrochek pick up locations:

1 NIH Bethesda campus:

Building 31, Room B1W30 

open from 7:30 am to 3:45 pm

2 Executive Plaza 

Building 6120, Room 150C 

open from 9:00 am to 3:35 pm

INFORMATION

Gary Freeman

301-496-8403

BUILDING 38 DINING

CENTER RENOVATION

The Building 38 Dining Center is

currently under renovation.The

upgrade should be completed by

spring of 2004.This long anticipated

project will enhance the seating area,

improve the flow of foot traffic, and

increase the amount of food options

available. Manager George Abbott is

quite pleased with the new plans and

he is sure that this renovation will

bring more patrons to the facility.

A salad bar will be added to

respond to many requests for healthy

eating alternatives in NIH dining

facilities. Please note that during the

renovation the dining center will

remain open during regular hours;

however, made-to-order hot food

will not be available. For alternative

hot meals please visit the Building

45 (Natcher) Dining Center, which

has just added new menu stations

and new food concepts.

INFORMATION

301-402-8180

Dwayne Parris

www.nih.gov/od/ors/dss/special/food.htm 
NEWS2USE

9

10 11

NEW CREDIT UNION

ATM PLANNED FOR

OUTSIDE BUILDING 50

The small kiosk in front of Building

50 is the future site of an National

Institutes of Health Federal Credit

Union (NIHFCU) ATM machine.

Facing South Drive, this will be a

convenient location for many 

campus employees, particularly those

coming from the Metro to points

south.There will be appropriate

lighting for safe night use, with 

cameras placed inside the machine to

monitor activity.The kiosk will continue to have information posted on

the bulletin boards on its remaining

free sides.

According to Jim Norris,Vice

President of the NIHFCU Delivery

Systems,“We are excited about this

new location and the convenience it

will add, with 24-hour access to the

NIH community.We continue to

evaluate new locations for ATM

machines with enhanced accessibility

for both members and non-members

and improved convenience in mind.”

INFORMATION

Jim Norris

301-348-2023

INTERPRETING SERVICES

AND SIGN LANGUAGE

Recently, the Office of Research

Services (ORS) has implemented

several organizational changes. One

is that the Worksite Enrichment

Programs Branch has been elevated

to a Division. Effective October 1,

2003, the project office for the NIHwide interpreting services contract

will reside within the new Division

of Employee Services. Please know

that this will not affect the services

we provide through our contract

with Sign Language Associates.

Another result of this restructuring is a change in the contract

Project Officer.As of October 1,

Tim Tosten was named Acting

Project Officer, while Carole

Harman will continue to be Quality

Assurance Assistant. Ellen Grant has

worked on the interpreting services

contract since 1999. However, she is

also the Project Officer for the Travel

Management Center Contract with

Omega and will now be working for

a new ORS entity, the Division of

Travel and Transportation Services.

Our contract with Sign

Language Associates (SLA) has

entered its last option year.Tosten

will be working to ensure that the

new contract is awarded in a timely

manner.Two or three users of the

sign language contract sit on the

technical review panel.

In four years, ORS provided

over 38,000 hours of interpreting

services to the NIH.Those are simply the hours provided, but how well

did SLA fare against the contract's

performance standards? At the end of

each contract year, our project office

team compiles all the monthly usage

data and offers the community an

executive summary that provides

answers and overviews of the services

provided during the previous year;

the period of June 2002 through

May 2003 is available at:

www.nih.gov/od/ors/dss/special/

execsummar y3.htm

INTERPRETING SERVICES

SCHEDULING NOTES

The Interpreting Services Project

Office and Sign Language Associates

(SLA) are dedicated to ensuring that

all interpreting service requests are

confirmed with assigned interpreters.

However, there are times when no

matter how much creative thinking

and scheduling adjustments are made

a request may not be filled for several

reasons.To assist us in meeting your

needs, we ask that when possible the

following be taken into consideration:

■ All of us have been in the situation

where we are asked to attend a last

minute or unplanned urgent meeting, however, many are known in

advance.To limit the number of

unfilled requests, please enter your

interpreting service requests five or

more business days in advance of the

event start date.This extra time is

needed by SLA to ensure the most

appropriate interpreter is assigned to

your request.

■ When you know that your 

previously scheduled event has been

postponed or cancelled, please try to

let the Project Office know two

business days in advance. Not only

will this conserve financial resources,

but it may also free an interpreter

who can then fill a last minute

request.

■ When you are planning your

annual leave, please keep the Project

Office in mind.You may have an

ongoing or one-time request on our

master calendar that needs to be 

cancelled or changed.

■ If you need to make a change or

cancel your request, please go to our

web site: http://www.nih.gov/od/ors/

dss/special/interp.htm
ISSUE 5 JANUARY 2004 

12

13

Please avoid sending e-mail messages

to one particular individual in the

office.There are times when the primary point of contact may be out of

the office,and SLA might not receive

the information. By entering it online,

the entire office and SLA have

immediate access and your request

will be expeditiously processed.

We look forward to continuing

to provide the NIH with exceptional

interpreting services, but your assistance is also key to accomplishing

that goal.

INFORMATION

Carole Harman or Tim Tosten

301-402-8180 or 301-435-1908 (TTY)

PLAY IT SAFE WITH

SPACE HEATERS

Each winter, questions arise concerning the use of space heaters at

the NIH. Before a space heater can

be considered for an area, any difficulties in regulating or maintaining a

comfortable temperature must first

be directed to the Office of Research

Facilities Development and Operations

(ORFDO) Central Call-In Desk at

301-435-8000 or http://des.od.nih.

gov/msweb. A building engineer 

will attempt to make mechanical

adjustments to the heating system. If

it is determined that an area cannot

be adequately heated, a space heater

may then be purchased for use in

designated areas only. Space heaters are

not permitted, under any circumstances, in

laboratories, patient care units, or clinics.

Prior to installing any space

heater, ORFDO must verify that 

the electrical service to the area is

adequate to accommodate the heater

safely. Space heaters can easily overload electrical circuits in a building;

therefore, additional circuitry may

need to be installed. If electrical work

is required, it is the responsibility of

the requesting IC to initiate and

fund the necessary work requests.

The Division of the Fire

Marshal does not endorse any particular brand or manufacturer of space

heaters; however, a convection-type

heater is preferable. Convection

models slowly warm the air around

them and pose less of a burn hazard

since their surface temperatures are

generally lower. Prior to purchasing

the heater, be sure that the unit is

equipped with all of the following

features that minimize fire hazards

typically associated with these

devices:

• A multi-directional tip-over switch that

automatically turns off the unit regardless of which way it may fall.

• An overheat sensor that automatically

turns off the unit if it becomes too hot.

• A visible on/off switch and light.

Proper placement of the space heater

is important for safety as well as for

comfort. Make sure the unit is

placed on a hard non-combustible

surface instead of carpet.All combustible materials (e.g., paper, plastics, wood, etc.) must be stored away

from the heater.The power cord

must not be covered by carpeting or

other materials. Extension cords

should not be used. Never leave the

heater in operation when an area is

unoccupied.

INFORMATION

Division of the Fire Marshal 

301-496-0487

A REMINDER ABOUT

THE NIH CHILD CARE

WAITING LIST SERVICE

The National Institutes of Health

sponsors three child care centers for

children of NIH employees.The

three centers are of such high quality

and so well respected, not to mention convenient, that there are always

long waiting lists for spaces.

In order to address employee

concerns about access to the centers,

a Waiting List Management Service

was developed and implemented in

May 2002.This service, provided by

NIH through a contract with LifeWork

Strategies,Inc. has four components to

assist NIH employees wanting child care.

First, an employee may call or

go to a website to place a child’s name

on the waiting list for any one or more

of the three NIH centers. One phone

call or online application registers a

child or children for a waiting list.

Second, all employees are

offered personal consultation by a

trained child care resource specialist

about other child care options while

they are waiting for a space at NIH.

Since the wait can be long, especially

for the youngest children,a LifeWork

Strategies counselor can help families

look for alternate care or other options

near home or work.This service is

provided by the NIH Work/Life

Center in coordination with ORS.

Third, the Waiting List Service

contacts every family on the list on a

regular basis to confirm their place

on the waiting lists and to update

contact information.

Fourth, the service maintains

extensive demand data for ORS to

use when presenting a case for additional resources to provide additional

child care for NIH.

The ORS is pleased to offer

this successful service in response to

employee requests for streamlining,

reliability and fairness.

INFORMATION

To place your child’s name on a waiting

list for NIH Child Care

301-309-1466 ext. 107

To register online: www.nih.gov/od/ors/ 

dss/special/ chintro.htm
14

5 ISSUE JANUARY 2004 OFFICE OF RESEARCH SERVICES

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Mr. Steve Ficca, Office of Research Services Director encourages

you to submit questions, comments and suggestions about the services the ORS provides to the NIH 

community. Either Mr. Ficca or someone from the ORS staff will personally respond to each question. Just 

e-mail, phone or fax your comments and questions to the appropriate location listed below.

For questions or comments about ORS services to the

NIH community, contact the ORS Information Line:

E-mail: ORSInfo@mail.nih.gov

Phone: 301-594-6677 

Fax: 301-402-2204 

Website: http://www.nih.gov/od/ors/security/index.htm

For questions or comments about articles in the

News2Use or to suggest future story ideas:

E-mail: ORSNews2Use@mail.nih.gov

NEWS2USE

News2Use is published on recycled paper by the 

OFFICE OF RESEARCH SERVICES

NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

EDITOR Bradley Moss

WRITER Ann Cochran

ORS DIRECTOR Stephen A. Ficca 

LAYOUT DESIGN Medical Arts and Printing Services

INTERNET ADDRESS www.ors.od.nih.gov

NIH RECOGNIZED AS “BEST

WORKPLACE FOR COMMUTERS”

The Greater Washington DC Region's Best

Workplace for Commuters

SM Coalition recently

placed the National Institutes of Health, along with

75 other employers, on the first-ever regional “Best

Workplaces for Commuters

SM” List.

According to the Transportation Action

Partnership (TAP),“the list spotlights employers who

offer outstanding commuter benefits to employees,

thus reducing traffic and air pollution and improving

commuters’ - and the region's - health and quality of

life.”

Employers must meet a National Standard of

Excellence by offering employees commuter benefits,

such as employer-provided transit passes, vanpool subsidies, preferred parking for carpools/vanpools, bike

lockers, and compressed work schedules, said TAP, a

nonprofit group of local businesses working to

improve traffic conditions in North Bethesda and

Rockville.

CONTACT:

Thomas Hayden

301-496-6278

15

NIH SHUTTLE SCHEDULE NOW

AVAILABLE FOR BLACKBERRYS

NIH Shuttle users can now obtain employee

shuttle schedules via Blackberry devices.

The URL for Blackberry devices is:

http://shuttle. nih.gov .This schedule 

application is suitable for Blackberry models

6510 and 6710. It is not compatible for

Blackberry models 850, 950 and 957 due 

to their memory limitation.To use this 

feature, the subscriber must have wireless

internet access on the device.