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Nationwide Children's: The Go-To Guide | Columbus Parent

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NATIONWIDE CHILDREN’S: The Go-To Guide


hot topic: NATIONWIDE CHILDREN’S

NATIONWIDE CHILDREN’S AT A GLANCE For 120 years, Nationwide Children’s has served the families of Central Ohio in its 37-county service area. Right now, nearly 1 million patient visits are logged each year. The main campus has the only Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center in this service area and was the first in the state. With the addition this year of the 12story new main hospital, a third facility devoted to research and a satellite outpatient surgery center, this multifaceted healthcare organization strengthens its position as one of the top children’s hospitals in the world. The entire system reaches across Ohio, with one main hospital, 10 Primary Care Centers, 16 ChildLabs, 14 Close to Home Centers (many with Urgent Care capabilities), 15 Heart Centers (including one in Kentucky), five Neonatal Intensive or Newborn Special Care Units, three Sports Medicine and/or Orthopedic Centers, one satellite Surgery Center, one Autism Center and one Homecare and Hospice Services office. The map on the back of this Go-To Guide explains the functions and locations of each. With the opening of the new main hospital, the existing hospital becomes known as the Outpatient Care Center and will be converted to an outpatient care facility. 2

| June 2012 | columbusparent.com

DRIVING DIRECTIONS Nationwide Children’s main campus is located at 700 Children’s Drive at the intersection of Parsons and Livingston avenues, just south of the I-70/ I-71 split in south Columbus. Beginning June 10, you can download the “myChildren’s” free app from Apple’s App Store or Android’s Google Play Store. The app provides driving directions to any location within the Nationwide Children’s system. (You can also read any physician’s bio, learn more about the procedure you’re coming in for and much more!)

PARKING

A ticket system will be used now (instead of the old token system). You can “pay on foot” at kiosks in the hospital or “pay in lane” at stations as you exit a parking area. Drivers using GPS devices will appreciate that many of the visitors’ parking areas have their own address. Some on-street parking also can be found on the surrounding streets.

• 633 CHILDREN’S DRIVE = the new hospital’s 430-parking-space, underground garage; self-parking costs $2/first four hours, $1 each additional hour, $7 maximum charge • 555 S. 18TH ST. = the old hospital/new Outpatient Care Center’s 1,176-space garage; self-parking costs $2/four hours, $1 each additional hour, $5 max • OFF PARSONS AVE. = the new emergency department’s 80-space ground lot; self-parking costs $2/first four hours, $1 each additional hour, $5 max • 574 S. 18TH ST. = additional handicapped-accessible parking next to the Human Resources Building • ON MOOBERRY ST. = parking for those with high-top vans; call Patient Relations at 614-355-4133 to obtain a keycard for this lot • 700 CHILDREN’S DRIVE (main entrance and “crossroads” entrance) and 555 S. 18TH ST. (Outpatient Care Center entrance) = destinations for valet parking; costs $5.


WAYFINDING “Wayfinding” is Nationwide Children’s term for the system it has developed to (surprise, surprise) help visitors find their way through the combined hospitals. The system is based on the color-coded lines that many subway systems use. The lines — or “paths” — are embedded in the floors, and the terrazzo material used in the new main hospital to create the paths is designed to catch your eye, not just with vibrant colors but also with crushed-up mirrors and crystalclear glass chips (lean down and take a closer look if you don’t believe us!). This map shows the four lines: THE YELLOW PATH runs mostly through research facilities.

THE GREEN PATH leads through some of the best “purposeful distractions” in the hospital: the Magic Forest play area, the Magic Bean Café, the siblingsupport Clubhouse, the Columbus Blue Jackets Foundation Family Resource Center and the hospital’s chapel.

THE ORANGE PATH is the original line that runs through the existing hospital.

THE BLUE PATH (sometimes called “The River” by staff members) stretches the length of the entire first level from the new emergency department to the 18th Street parking garage.

Digital signage also is part of the new wayfinding system. These pairs of rectangular signs are located throughout the hospital. The one on the left will feature an interactive, touch-screen directory, and the one on the right will have a list of the day’s events.

SECURITY Hotels were the model for many design features in the expanded main campus. The most obvious similarity comes at the moment of arrival: At the main entrance desk, visitors will receive a key card coded uniquely for them. By using a swipe-activated reader, the key card allows families to enter AND exit only those areas of the hospital that they need to be in. The need to swipe a key card in order to leave an area is where the system differs from

hotels. The two main reasons for the exit swipes, explained hospital officials, are teens who are most prone to leaving the hospital on their own and parents in a custody battle who might try to leave with a child. Parents also can set up a “guest code” that visitors will need to know, along with a patient’s name, in order to be issued a visitor key card.

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hot topic: NATIONWIDE CHILDREN’S

NC-SPEAK Nationwide Children’s is, in many ways, its own country with its own language. In addition to terms like “wayfinding” and “The Clubhouse,” here are more terms that families may learn: THE BIG PICTURE • FAMILY-CENTERED CARE: one of the key concepts in the new hospital’s design. It embraces the idea that making the whole family comfortable creates an optimal healing environment.

• PURPOSEFUL DISTRACTION: another key concept related to the hospital’s vibrant, nature-oriented aesthetic design. Simply put, it translates to “help me forget why I’m here” and also promotes optimal healing.

• ONSTAGE (ALSO CALLED “FRONT OF HOUSE”): the parts of each level used by families and patients

• OFFSTAGE (OR “BACK OF HOUSE”): the parts used primarily by staff personnel. These include the hospital’s cooling and heating systems, waste-management systems, as well as the central controls for a pneumatic-tube system that delivers medicine throughout the hospital. There are about 10,900 feet (more than 2 miles) of pneumatic tubes running through the walls.

• THE BACK FILL: the phase of the campus expansion that will, over the next several years, convert the old hospital to an outpatient-treatment facility. The new hospital’s patient rooms need up to 15-feet ceilings to accommodate all the equipment now used (including cooling vents for telecommunication devices). The old patient rooms are only 11 feet tall: good for outpatient use, but not ideal for inpatient.

• HEALTHY NEIGHBORHOODS, HEALTHY FAMILIES: the neighborhood-revitalization project already begun in the surrounding, 10,000-resident community. More than 70 homes already have been renovated with more economic-development, literacy and domestic-safety programs to come.

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THE LITTLE DETAILS • ANIMAL FRIENDS: the 6-foot-tall animal characters carved out of bass wood by artists from Mansfield’s Carousel Works, one of the leading carousel makers in the world. • THE AVIARY AND THE RABBIT HOLE: you might hear staff members occasionally refer to the Atrium as “The Aviary” and the stairway behind the main entrance desk that leads down to the cafeteria as “The Rabbit Hole.” These are carryover terms from the early design phase. • CHILD LIFE: the playrooms that sit between the two wings of each level’s patient rooms. • LEVELS: don’t call them “floors.” The basement is the Lower Level and everything else goes from Level 1 up to Level 12.

| June 2012 | columbusparent.com

WILL SHILLING PHOTOS

• NICHES: the playful animal scenes with fun fact statements set into the walls on the patient floors; they are actually part of a strategy to engage kids’ attention and motivate them to walk along through the corridors. • VOCERAS: wireless communication devices worn like necklaces by medical personnel; they enable staff to spend less time at their desks and more time with patients. For fun, ask them if they can “call” Darth Vader, Dora the Explorer or SpongeBob. • THE WISH TREE: located in the sibling-support Clubhouse, the Wish Tree is an interactive art project, based on the Chinese tradition of adorning a village tree with paper on which good wishes for the new year have been written.


EAT IN!

CHILL OUT!

• CAFETERIA: located on the Lower Level, includes a wood-fired pizza oven, outdoor seating, a south-facing glass wall, ample comfy seating and very healthy, tasty food. Your parent ID card will get you one free 12-ounce beverage each day.

• THE MAGIC FOREST: Located in a Level 1 corridor between the new and old hospitals, the Magic Forest features a canopy of whimsically huge fiberglass-and-foam trees; “seek and find” art on the walls (the grown-up in need of a break says, “Go find the parachuting turtle” to the child who needs to burn off some excess energy); a tree with a cut-out arch, big enough to accommodate a wheelchair; and a smallchild-sized, two-hole burrow to climb through on the wall.

• THE FOOD COURT: located in the lower level of the education building: includes Subway and Mark Pi’s Koko’s • ON-DEMAND FOOD SERVICE: patients can order food from a menu to be delivered to their rooms at any time • MAGIC BEAN CAFÉ: located next to the Atrium. Lattes and gelato. Need we say more? • CLEMENTINE CAFÉ: a coffee shop located on the orange path near the Outpatient Care Center

HELP OUT! GIFT CARDS: A great way to help a family spending lots of time at Nationwide Children’s. These cards can be loaded with money and used in the cafeteria, food court, coffee shops, gift shop and outpatient pharmacy. To contribute, call Cathy Ray at 614-722-4973 or Kristen Haines at 614-722-3083 during weekday hours and they’ll be able to process a contribution via credit card.

• BRING YOUR OWN: families (in consultation with the staff) can bring in favorite foods prepared at home or purchased outside the hospital

• THE FRONT LAWN: This outside park is a 6-acre series of gardens, each designed to offer a special experience. The space has a fragrance maze, an S-shaped “storyteller’s garden,” slate walls to draw on with chalk, a toddler’s play area and a memorial garden. The hospital has also taken over maintenance of the city’s Livingston Park. • THE GALAXY LOUNGE: One of the limitations of the existing hospital was that special entertainment often occurred in the main lobby, and that prevented children with delicate immune systems from coming down to see the shows. With the creation of the “Galaxy Lounge” on Level 6, more children will be able to attend special events. For those still confined to their beds, the Lounge’s shows can be broadcast to their rooms’ TVs. • ACTIVITY ROOMS: In addition to the Child Life play areas, three different activity rooms have been created for specific age groups — one for Toddlers (on Level 10), one for School-Age children (6) and one for Teens (11). • FAMILY SPACE: Each patient-room floor has a social room available to families and their visitors. • THE CLUBHOUSE: A carryover concept from the existing hospital, the Clubhouse is where patient siblings, ages 3-11, can hang out and receive supportive care. • THE COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS FOUNDATION FAMILY RESOURCE CENTER: provides a variety of family-support services including a lounge and eating area, showers, lockers, fitness equipment and a library with computers and printers. • THE AQUARIUM: In the center of the Emergency Department sits a donut-shaped, 1,400-gallon, freshwater aquarium where brightly colorful African peacock cichlids swim. It’s built around one of the hospital’s support columns.

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hot topic: NATIONWIDE CHILDREN’S

Nationwide Children’s in Central Ohio 4.

LOCATIONS WITH FACILITIES AT OR NEAR THE SAME ADDRESS: 1. DOWNTOWN/MAIN CAMPUS: Main Hospital, Primary Care Center, Heart Center Clinic, NICU 2. EAST COLUMBUS: ChildLab, Heart Center Clinic 3. DUBLIN: ChildLab, Close to Home Center, NICU 4. WESTERVILLE: ChildLab, Close to Home Center, Heart Center Clinic 5. HILLIARD: ChildLab, Close to Home Center 6. CANAL WINCHESTER: ChildLab, Close to Home Center 7. DUBLIN: ChildLab, Close to Home Center 8. WESTERVILLE: Close to Home Center, Child Development and Autism Center

3.

8.

MOUNT CARMEL ST. ANN’S HOSPITAL

7.

NORTHLAND

RIVERSIDE METHODIST HOSPITAL

5.

UNITY LINDEN

PRIMARY CARE CENTERS

2.

OLENTANGY

where you go for regular checkups and immunizations (up to age 21) GRANT MEDICAL CENTER

CHILDLABS

DOCTORS HOSPITAL

where you go for blood tests and other medical tests

NEAR EAST

WHITEHALL

HILLTOP 1.

WESTSIDE SOUTH HIGH

CLOSE TO HOME CENTERS where you go for urgent care when your primary-care doctor's office is closed or unavailable; these centers also may offer services for behavioral health, physical therapy and other special needs

HEART CENTER CLINIC where you go for outpatient cardiology diagnoses and treatment

SPORTS MEDICINE AND ORTHOPEDIC CENTERS where you go for treatment and prevention of sports-related injuries; for weight and nutrition issues; and for problems related to the spine and other musculoskeletal issues

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MAIN HOSPITAL: where you go for emergency and trauma treatment; for inpatient and outpatient treatment of serious medical conditions; and for most major surgeries

EASTLAND

GROVE CITY

WESTERVILLE SURGERY CENTER where you go for outpatient surgical procedures

HOMECARE AND HOSPICE SERVICES OFFICE where you go for assistance in home-based care

| June 2012 | columbusparent.com

6.

NEONATAL INTENSIVE CARE UNIT OR NEWBORN SPECIAL CARE UNIT where you go when an infant is born with serious medical needs CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND AUTISM CENTERS where you go for assistance with a variety of developmental needs


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