After nearly two years of construction, CalvertHealth Medical
Center welcomed patients and family members into all-private,
medical and surgical rooms featuring a safe, calming environment
to heal. The opening marked the completion of Phase 1 of the
$51-million expansion and renovation project.
Phase 1 also included a substantial face-lift to the
main level. The new space is home to the waiting
area for same day surgery, the Steve and Sunny
Keithley medical center lobby, the coffee bar, gift
shop and chapel.
Renovations have already begun to convert
existing double rooms on Levels 2 and 3 to private
rooms. Plans also call for an inpatient dialysis
unit to be added to the 2nd floor as well as a
14-bed observation unit. The final phase of the
project is expected to be finished next year. For
more information, visit
CalvertHealthMedicine.org/ExpansionUpdates.
The Big Move
After months of detailed planning, patients were
moved to private rooms beginning with Level 3,
which houses the majority of the hospital’s surgical
patients. Chief Nursing Officer Diane Couchman
said, “It was an incredibly coordinated effort
requiring the assistance of many departments and
clinicians. We have a great team here and seeing
how positively the patients are responding to the
new rooms is very rewarding.”
And respond positively, they did. Each new,
all-private room is equipped with a Centrella™
Smart+Bed, a large window to let in natural light,
a 49-inch flat-screen TV, a safe in the closet and
a sleeper bed for family members to use while
supporting the patient’s healing process.
“From the initial design to the final furnishings,
every decision was thoughtfully considered with the
patient’s well-being in mind,” said President and
CEO Dean Teague. He also stressed that patients
do not pay additional costs for a private room nor
any expense related to the project.
Alice Henson of St. Leonard was the first patient to be moved to the new patient rooms. “Welcome” gifts were provided to the first 10 patients who were moved.
Privacy a Huge Benefit
Level 3 Director Karen Gromacki, RN, BSN
said one of the greatest benefits of the new
space, in addition to the natural light and
modern feel, is the privacy granted to the
patients during multidisciplinary bedside
rounding.
“Multidisciplinary rounding is the
standard of care for patient-centered care.
The new private rooms provide increased
communication between the caregivers,
the patient and their family members,”
said Gromacki.
She went on to add, “Effective and
efficient communication is invaluable for
the delivery of quality patient care and
allows the patient to participate in that
care. The new patient rooms allow the team
to do this at the bedside so that patients
can be part of that conversation – and the
discussions are now conducted in a much
more private atmosphere.”