Guest Blog from Todd Johnson, VP Facilities
It has been exciting to see the exterior work on the building begin and interior construction is starting to take shape. I spent some time over the past month working with our construction and internal teams to create a ‘mock’ patient room. Until now we have only been able to use cardboard and tape to develop what we believe will create an optimal patient experience and new model of care. It has been great to see a real room take shape.
This ‘mock’ patient room will allow us to further develop design concepts for the caregiver, patient and parent spaces. As we begin work on these interiors spaces it will help us make final determinations on interior design elements coupled with functional requirements for the care and safety of our patients. We have combined feedback from our staff, caregivers, families and patients to design care spaces that will offer new amenities and features that will promote healing environments for our most critically ill children. We are now able to use this space to test, evaluate and train as we prepare for opening next Spring.
Some of the new features include:
• single patient rooms
• sleeping and storage areas for family members
• bathroom facilities equipped with sliding doors for easier access and increased safety
• natural light to promote healing and wellness
• refrigerators for food storage
• consultation spaces to review medical information
• care team ‘porches’ that offer efficiencies for delivery of patient medications, supplies and food