Publications
Expanding Inpatient Capacity
New Floors, New Amenities
by Debbie Sharp
To meet the growing demand for inpatient beds, MD Anderson is adding new floors on top of the existing Alkek Hospital. The first three of these floors will open in November 2010, with five more to be added over the next few years as needed. The addition of all eight floors will increase hospital size by 445,000 sq. ft. The new patient care units on these floors are being designed in a manner that promotes patient- and family-centered care, while also maximizing efficiency of work effort for the care team and promoting interdisciplinary collaboration.
The patient rooms, once completed, will be larger in size than on the older floors to allow easier access to the patient, and will include ergonomic and design considerations that recognize the needs of
nurses as they deliver care.
“We’ve gone from a centralized to a decentralized nurses’ station”, says Patty Johnston, director of clinical nursing. “Many advantages have been adapted into the new design including view windows from
the staff stations so nurses can see the patient, locked areas to store medications at the bedside, and supplies readily available to improve efficiency of care delivery.”
The units are designed with cut-through corridors so nurses can more directly travel around the unit, decreasing the time and steps required to get from one point to another. In addition, space for a nurse tranquility room was incorporated on some floors to give nurses a place to rest and recharge, which will help decrease fatigue associated with errors.
“Since the layout of these floors is so different from what the nurses are used to, it will take a significant amount of time to get ready to practice in this environment,” says Barbara Summers, Ph.D., vice
president and chief nursing officer. “However, we’re looking forward to all the wonderful amenities and space that these new units will provide for our patients and our nursing staff.”
Other key features include:
- Supplies at the bedside
- Caregiver work area inside the patient room
- Wider doors and more room around beds
- Bathrooms all ADA accessible
- Toilets on the outboard window wall for increased nursing staff visibility
- Hand washing sinks inside patient rooms and in corridors
- Alcoves for easy access to PPE equipment outside rooms
- Distributed supplies and linens
- Night lights at patient doors
- Electrical outlets positioned higher
- Standardized headwalls with duplicate oxygen, air and two suction outlets on each side of the bed
- 54 computers per 24-bed unit
- Team rooms for interdisciplinary team member meetings
- Enclosed medication rooms to decrease distractions
- Family alcove in room
- Large equipment storage rooms and ample alcoves for housing of carts