- Nursing workstations are next to patient rooms with observation windows that allow clinical staff to stay near the bedside for monitoring and quick response.
- By creating hybrid ORs that can accommodate several different procedures at the same time, patients with complex conditions no longer need to be transported from on
e area of the hospital to another to undergo lifesaving surgeries. New technology allows neurosurgeons to better determine if brain tumor cells have been successfully removed without the patient having to leave the OR. - ICU rooms have new bedside technology, such as embedded patient lift equipment and wall-mounted dialysis connections, to maximize the use of floor space and reduce tripping hazards.
- The hospitals have a dedicated rehab unit and gym resources for physical therapy, plus a dialysis unit to support efficient care so patients do not need to leave the facility for these services.
- The new hospitals are being considered for Green Globes Certification in recognition of the environmental and sustainability steps taken in their design and construction. At least 90 percent of the construction waste has been reclaimed and reused. Natural gas-fired on-site generators and heat reclamation will recapture otherwise wasted energy that will be used to create chilled water and steam.
- Each patient room has wall-to-wall windows to let in natural light, original art representing Florida nature scenes and an infotainment system with a large flat-screen TV monitor and interactive bedside tables for patients and family members to use for patient education, hospital information and entertainment.
- The third-floor open terrace area is on a “green roof’’ to encourage patients, visitors and staff to enjoy fresh air and sunshine. The entrance-level outdoor space includes a healing garden with ponds and walking trails to create a habitat that will attract wildlife.
- The new parking garage will feature 600 spaces for patients and visitors. A covered walkway will lead from the garage to the lobby, where wayfinding will help direct people through the facility.
e area of the hospital to another to undergo lifesaving surgeries. New technology allows neurosurgeons to better determine if brain tumor cells have been successfully removed without the patient having to leave the OR.
ncludes a healing garden with ponds and walking trails to create a habitat that will attract wildlife.
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Cardio Nurse
Closeness Counts
Placing clinics near each other helps medical teams, patients, by Karin Lillis
For Kim Bain, ARNP, who works in the cardiovascular practice at UF Health, one key design element of the new hospitals makes a huge difference in how the medical teams interact. Practices located in proximity to one another foster collaboration between cardiothoracic surgeons and heart failure cardiologists, she said.
Patients also benefit from the ability to receive care in one location, rather than at multiple sites.
“Cardiovascular and thoracic patients, like those with heart failure, often need the care of medical and surgical teams. It will be easier on patients if they’re able to get all of their care at the same location,” Bain said.
“On the practitioner side, sharing clinic space will allow for a more collaborative approach. This will improve efficiency when developing and adjusting treatment plans for patients. That will make it more efficient to develop and adjust treatment plans for patients.”
Bain also said the aesthetics of the new hospital “are stunning.” Outdoor spaces, windows and terraces will let in natural light. All-private rooms with interactive technology will improve the overall patient experience in the hospital, she noted.
“So much thought went into planning even the little details,’’ she said. “Not only is it a beautiful building, but heart and neuro patients also can receive virtually all their medical care in one location.”
Neurology
Family Friendly
Neurology team thrilled at new hospitals’ focus on family care, by Michelle Koidin Jaffee
UF Health’s new neuromedicine hospital offers today’s most advanced and comprehensive approach to treating neurological and neurosurgical conditions: Physicians, nurses and technicians work together in once centralized location designed not only for the ideal patient experience, but also the ideal experience for a patient’s family as well.
Neurology team members Katharina M. Busl, M.D., division chief of neurocritical care, and Brandi Kenworthy, ARNP, nurse practitioner for the comprehensive stroke center, say while an unplanned hospital stay is never easy, the many outstanding features of the new neuromedicine hospital translate into a transformative experience for patients as well as loved ones.
Among those features is more space for family members. “Overall, it will not only benefit the patients from a medical and care perspective, with the newest, state-of-the-art facilities, but also from a more holistic view – families can be there with patients. This will also help facilitate care, as communication between families and care teams will be easier and hopefully help to make stays more palatable,” Busl said. “The layout is also extremely friendly to families, patients and visitors, and it includes several amenities not conventionally present in hospitals.”
Outpatient follow-up visits are easier as well, as patients will be returning to the same location, Kenworthy added.
“Patients will have all their resources in one place,” she said.
Kenworthy feels the excitement of leading the way in the future of neurological care.
“We’re just at the beginning of what is to come,” she said. “We’re going to be the neurological and neurosurgical mecca of the Southeast.”
Tech
State-of-the-Art
New hospitals offer latest technology for medical teams, by Doug Bennett
When Elba Cruz, R.N., goes to work in the operating rooms at the new UF Health Neuromedicine Hospital, she is surrounded by cutting-edge equipment.
Two of the new operating rooms feature intraoperative MRI equipment, allowing physicians to create real-time brain images and better overall outcomes. There are seven neuromedicine operating suites with the latest design, including two interventional operating rooms. After surgery, patients can rest and heal in one of the hospital’s 96 beds, which include 48 private inpatient rooms with family accommodations and a thoughtfully designed 48-bed intensive care unit.
Still, not everything is new to Cruz —and she wouldn’t have it any other way. She has spent nearly 17 years in the operating rooms at UF Health Shands Hospital, starting her career as a neurosurgery technician. After returning to school, Cruz knew exactly where she wanted to use her new nursing degree. In August, she started working as a neurosurgery operating room nurse.
For Cruz, the combination of a new hospital with progressive equipment and experienced, dedicated physicians will be a perfect fit. Early in her career, she worked with world-renowned UF neurosurgeon Albert L. Rhoton Jr., M.D. She’s now part of the nursing group that supports UF Health neurosurgeons, who perform approximately 600 brain tumor operations and 10,000 neurosurgical procedures annually.
“We have always been a team,” Cruz said. “Our team now has even more high-tech equipment to strive for the highest levels of patient care.”
Cardio
Team-Based Care
Putting cardiology teams under one roof enhances cohesiveness, by Karin Lillis
Thomas Beaver, M.D., M.P.H., a professor and chief in the division of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery at the UF College of Medicine, looks forward to continuing to provide cohesive care for patients in a high-tech environment.
“The best trait is the collaborative team approach we have, which combines surgical expertise and outstanding care by our cardiology colleagues,” Beaver said. “Having cardiovascular, thoracic, vascular and cardiology services all under one roof takes the advanced care we provide one step further.”
He added that the medical and surgical clinicians practice “team-based care with minimally invasive approaches.” All cardiac studies —such as CT scans and echocardiograms —are down the hallway from clinics on the first floor. Five hybrid operating rooms will allow surgeons to treat cardiovascular, thoracic and neurology patients who need diagnostic and surgical interventions.
“The design of the new hospital and the multidisciplinary care we provide to patients represent an advanced way of thinking,” Beaver said. “We know it’s the future, so we’ve invested heavily in that. The new hospitals are a wonderful stadium for our amazing team players.”
Neurosurgery Team
No Detail Too Small
Neurosurgery teams see better cohesion in new surroundings, by Michelle Koidin Jaffee
At UF Health’s new neuromedicine hospital, the neurosurgery team is striving to create the best possible patient experience —down to the smallest detail.
The new hospital will bring progressive technology and true interdisciplinary care between neurologists and neurosurgeons for patients facing conditions such as stroke, brain aneurysms, traumatic brain injury, spine disorders, movement disorders and brain tumors.
Neurosurgery team members Brian Hoh, M.D., a professor and associate chair of UF’s department of neurosurgery, and Justine Abram, R.N., nurse manager of the neurosurgery medical surgical unit, note that in the past, patients would have to go to different locations to see a physician, get an MRI scan and undergo other tests.
“Now, everyone will come to them,” Hoh said. “They’ll see neurosurgeons, neurologists and other specialists and will have their tests and scans completed all in one location.”
The new hospital offers more of everything: more beds in general rooms as well as in the intensive care unit, more operating rooms, more radiology suites and more clinic space.
For members of the neurosurgery and neurology teams, “it’s going to make us a more cohesive group,” Abram said. “We’re already very well-intertwined, but having the neurosurgeons and neurologists in the same building —a flight up or down —will take our teamwork to the highest possible level.”
Infotainment
Dialed In
New system puts entertainment, important information at patients’ fingertips, by Bill Levesque
Much of the anxiety of a hospital stay is caused by a loss of control.
“We take away your clothes,” said Brad Pollitt, A.I.A., UF Health Shands vice president of facilities. “We take away the food you like. We put you in a bed and tell you that you can’t go anywhere.”
But at the new UF Health Heart & Vascular and Neuromedicine hospitals, patients will regain some of that sense of self-determination by using a couple of familiar tools: a television set and a computer tablet.
Each of the 216 private patient rooms at the new hospitals will be equipped with an “infotainment” system, linking a bedside iPad to the widescreen television on the wall.
In a sense, it puts the patient back in their own living room.
They will be able to push content from the iPad to the television, using their own online accounts such as Netflix or HBO. They also will be able to surf the web and check email, or dial up the latest cat videos on YouTube.
That is the “tainment” part of the equation. The “info” part transforms the experience of a hospital stay, Pollitt said.
Patients can order a hospital meal by calling up a menu, communicate with their health care team, review educational videos or their care plan or access medical records, among a variety of offerings. Patients also will be able to control their window blinds and the room’s thermostat using the system.
The system has been up and running in 92 hospital rooms at UF Health North in Jacksonville since May.
It’s been a hit with patients.
“The feedback has been great,” said Linda Kim, the facility’s business operations manager. “It’s also really nice because patients can be watching something on the iPad, but if they have family in the room with them, like their kids, they can also watch something else on the television.”
UF Health Shands ultimately hopes to expand the system to its other facilities.
“Patients expect this,” Pollitt said. “Everybody has a smartphone, or many, many people do. I have a selection of entertainment opportunities at home. Why can’t I have it here? It ought to at least be as good as a nice hotel room.”