For immediate release
Patients move into Methodist Hospitals new tower
Arcadia
(
Sept. 30, 2011) Methodist Hospital welcomed visitors through its new main entrance Tuesday, Sept. 27, and moved patients from two older wings into the new patient tower. The staff had been preparing for this move for well over a year, practicing possible scenarios and planning for a safe, efficient transfer of patients.
Patient safety is always our top priority, said Carolyn Tadeja, chief nursing officer. A nurse accompanied each patient throughout the move, and a team of caregivers was on call for any necessary emergency care.
Completed about four months ahead of schedule and several million dollars under budget, the new tower cost $140 million, with more than $26 million raised through community support. Although considered a replacement building due to seismic regulations, more important, it has been built to address the need for emergency and critical care services.
The building has 155,000-square feet of new workspace on six floors, including the basement. The first floor consists of the new Hollfelder Emergency Care Center and the main entrance. The second floor has 20 new critical care beds, and the top three floors are identically designed with 40 medical surgical beds each.
With the new heart telemetry system, all patients in the North Tower will be monitored. Each nurse will have a computer to do up-to-the-minute patient charting. The third floor is dedicated to neurological and stroke patients; the fourth floor, respiratory; and the fifth, cardiac.
The color schemes on the top three floors were selected to provide a soothing and healing environment for patients. Every medical surgical floor has private rooms, semi-private rooms and two larger corner rooms. Many rooms feature a view of the San Gabriel Mountains, the racetrack or the golf course. Every room has a 32 flat screen TV and a whiteboard with the day/date and the names of the on-duty nurse and technician.
Hollfelder Emergency Care Center
The new 26-bed, state-of-the-art Hollfelder Emergency Care Center features all private patient rooms, each with a television and overhead lights. All beds have cardiac monitoring, and many have the ability to adjust the head and feet for additional patient comfort. The four critical care rooms are like a mini intensive care unit, including overhead surgical lights and equipment booms with multiple suction outlets, oxygen and medical air.
Five specialty rooms include two OB/GYN, an orthopedic, an ENT and a room for psychiatric patients.
With emergency showers installed, the new ambulance bay has room for five ambulances, with the capability to decontaminate multiple patients in the event of a chemical disaster. A negative pressure room with a decontamination room attached is provided for patients who are too severely injured to decontaminate themselves.
Adjacent to the Hollfelder Emergency Care Center is its mirror image an 18-bed observation unit. A 24-hour unit with short-stay patients for blood transfusions, chemotherapy, catheterization lab, chest pain, etc., it also is a rapid-admission unit, useful during peak hospital census. The observation unit also has a negative pressure bronchoscopy room, and all beds can monitor cardiac and vital signs.
New cafeteria and Fresh Inspirations
Also opened on Tuesday, the new cafeteria reflects the goal of creating a healthy, diverse, sustainable environment to nourish patients and visitors in an uplifting environment. Coinciding with the opening of the North Tower, the food and nutrition department made some innovations such as its new Fresh Inspirations Caf featuring food and beverages prepared from fresh ingredients. The cafeterias new central location ensures that patient tray delivery is fast and efficient. Featuring new state-of-the-art equipment, the kitchen also provides patients with healthier and broader selections of comfort food. Disposable patient dishes have been replaced with new machine-washable dishes, and paper-tray mats with new, non-skid eco-friendly trays.
Customer service with a smile
The volunteer services staff and volunteers played a large part in helping to make the transition to the new tower go smoothly for patients and visitors. Smiling, helpful volunteers provided friendly customer service at the redesigned information desk at the new main entrance.
Built for safety
Methodist Hospitals North Tower is a state-of-the-art facility built with many safety features such as ergonomic friendly workstations, fire compartments that allow for horizontal and vertical evacuation, evacuation and exit-route signage and emergency power sources and communication. The new tower and areas of the existing hospital will have a high-tech access control system that will promote tighter access control for high-risk areas such as critical care, emergency services and pharmacy.
Connecting to the Berger Tower with expansion joints for added earthquake protection, the new building is one of the safest around in the event of an earthquake.
About Methodist Hospital
Founded in 1903 by the Methodist WomenThe 460-bed, not-for-profit, full-service community hospital serves Arcadia and surrounding communities. Its services widely range from obstetrics to complex neurosurgery and open-heart surgery.
Methodist Hospital has been designated Centers of Excellence in our STEMI (heart attack) receiving center, stroke center, comprehensive cancer center, bariatric (weight loss) surgery center, and congestive heart center. For more information, visit www.methodisthospital.org.
The 460-bed hospital has been designated Centers of Excellence for its STEMI (heart attack) receiving center, stroke center, comprehensive cancer center, bariatric (weight loss) surgery center and congestive heart center.