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North Patient Tower
Last updated: 01/23/2009
After 2 years of construction the North Patient Tower opened in November 2007
The five-story, $85 million North Patient Tower at Cabell Huntington Hospital was completed in 2007. One of the primary goals in building the new tower was to be able to offer patients technologically advanced, state-of-the-art rooms for their care. Once they enter their rooms, patients feel as though they are staying in a brand new hospital.
"Our focus is always on our patients and how we can serve them better," said Brent A. Marsteller, President and CEO of Cabell Huntington Hospital. "In many cases, a hospital stay is a trying time for patients and their families. Now we hope to make them more comfortable by offering them brand new, state-of-the-art rooms and waiting areas with all of the amenities they need."
Every patient room in the North Patient Tower has a window - in some cases floor to ceiling - and all of them have private bathrooms. More than 90 percent of the rooms are private. All of the rooms are larger, with extra room for family and friends. Most important, the patient rooms were designed and built to accommodate the new technologies that are an integral part of health care today.
Clinicians have instantaneous access to information on their handheld wireless computers
The design includes computers in an alcove between every two patient rooms, with windows looking into each patient room, so the clinician can electronically monitor and document the patient's condition without disturbing the patient. In addition, it has the most advanced wireless infrastructure and state-of-the-art clinical information systems that provide clinicians with instantaneous access to relevant information on their mobile handheld wireless computers. And clinicians are not the only ones benefiting from this technology. The whole new hospital tower is a giant wireless internet hotspot, allowing patients and visitors anytime, anywhere wireless internet access while they are in our hospital.
All of the units in the new tower have been planned for optimal workflow and use of space. Fixtures were chosen to be attractive and soothing, and attention was paid to each detail. For example, many areas of the new facility feature cove lighting that emits softer light than the harsh fluorescent lighting typically found in many hospitals. Combined with the natural light from the windows, the atmosphere is softer and more soothing.
The layout of the new units also reflects the hospital's continued focus on patient care. Instead of one large nurses' station in a central location, the new units have several smaller team stations so that staff can be closer to patients. There are more medication rooms and nourishment stations on each unit so that staff has everything necessary to attend to their patients' needs without having to go far.
"I think that one of the best things about the tower is the emphasis on design," said Gerry Stevenson, director of Maintenance and Engineering. "Our priorities were two-fold. We wanted spacious, comfortable and attractive rooms for our patients and their families, but just as important was planning for the delivery of care. These rooms offer doctors, nurses and other caregivers the opportunity to give the best one-on-one care they can while preserving the patient's dignity and privacy. I think patients will appreciate that and I know the staff will, too."
The new Emergency Department features a large, comfortable waiting area
On the first floor, the new Emergency/Level II Trauma Department was designed for convenient patient access, with a large, comfortable waiting area. To serve patients better, the Registration Department expanded the number of registration stations to four. The Emergency Department now has 30 exam rooms and five trauma rooms, increasing the square footage from approximately 15,000 square feet to about 30,000, and the unit is in close proximity to Radiology and Cardiology services should the need arise. The ImmediateCare area, which handles non-emergent walk-in patients, has been expanded to ten rooms.
The second floor is dedicated to a 38-bed post-surgical nursing unit. Earth tones dominate the color scheme, and many rooms feature combinations of colors that make it feel more homey. The large bathrooms in each patient room feature modern fixtures and decorative tile work more luxurious than typically found in a hospital.
The third floor showcases one of Cabell Huntington's premier services - labor, delivery and recovery. With about 2,600 deliveries each year, more babies are born at Cabell Huntington each year than any other hospital in the Tri-State. Labor, Delivery and Recovery has increased the number of labor rooms from 11 to 18, and their level of comfort and attractiveness is more like a hotel room than a hospital room.
"For starters, the rooms are just bigger," said Gerry Thompson, RN, nurse manager of Labor, Delivery and Recovery and a 24-year employee of Cabell Huntington Hospital. "They all have large, almost floor-to-ceiling windows. There's a lounge area in the room where family members can stay and be more comfortable. Each room has a flat screen television, and the bathrooms are also much nicer."
For babies born early or with health concerns, the floor features specially equipped Neonatal Intensive Care stations at each end of the building, so that the most fragile babies can be stabilized and prepared to be transported to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit on the fifth floor. To expedite transport, the staff uses a designated elevator that runs only between Labor and Delivery and the NICU. This way, these tiny patients receive the care they need in the shortest amount of time.
The fourth floor houses a variety of critical care units, including adult intensive care, cardiac intensive care (CICU) and surgical intensive care (SICU). All of the critical care rooms are spacious with floor-to-ceiling windows, and they were built to accommodate all of the specialized technology and equipment required to provide acute care. The rooms have breakaway doors to make it easy to transport patients for testing or in emergencies. There are four specially built isolation rooms with HEPA filters and positive pressure for immuno-compromised patients. The decentralized nursing stations put caregivers right near the bedside rather than at a central nursing station.
The fifth floor houses Cabell Huntington's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). With more than 700 admissions each year, it's one of the largest and longest-running programs of its kind in the Tri-State. The NICU has been redesigned to reflect a philosophical change in the way that these tiny babies are cared for. The original NICU was more of a ward-type setting with 29 beds in one big room. The new NICU gained more beds, moving up to 36, and it has all private rooms or semi-private rooms, which can be used for twins and other multiples. Private rooms decrease the noise level and encourage family bonding with their babies. Current research indicates that private rooms are very advantageous for the development of preemies, who require less oxygen, gain weight more quickly and may have a shorter hospital stay as a result. Outside the NICU rooms, parents have access to a family area with a washer, dryer and kitchenette, as well as a computer area and television.
An expanded 18-bed oncology unit is located ton the tower's fifth floor. With the addition of the Edwards Comprehensive Cancer Center to the campus and the addition of several new medical oncologists and hematologists to the hospital staff, the demand for oncology rooms continues to grow. The new unit includes four specially built rooms with HEPA filters and positive pressure for immuno-compromised patients. All of the rooms are decorated with the latest colors, fixtures and finishes to give the rooms a more modern look.
"The whole atmosphere of the unit is brighter," said Molly Sarver, RN, BSN, OCN, nurse manager of the unit. "The combination of the larger rooms and all of the windows can't help but lift the spirits of patients who may be hospitalized for a long time."
"The larger rooms and the separate sleeping areas for families reflect the importance of having loved ones involved as much as possible when a patient is being treated for cancer," she emphasized. "The new family waiting areas are calming and comfortable, and the views are beautiful. I think our returning patients will be delighted with the new oncology unit."
"The bottom line is that, in health care, we can never rest," emphasizes President and CEO Brent Marsteller. "Our mission is to serve our patients and our community, and to do that, we must be able to offer them the latest technology and a great variety of services in a facility that will exceed their expectations. When you add the compassion, experience and expertise of our physicians and employees, we can now offer the members of this community the quality of health care that they deserve."
