Rochester Engineer Cover Story October 2020

Virtual Training for New Healthcare Facilities by Vince Press, former Director of Communications

Training staff for the opening a new facility can be extremely difficult, especially during a pandemic. The traditional method of onsite workflow planning is immensely limited at this time. CPL and its Creative Labs Team were recently commissioned by the Rochester Regional Health System to develop a fully interactive, virtual training model for front line workers to become familiar with their new spaces in the Sands-Constellation Center for Critical Care tower in Rochester, NY. Because of COVID-19 restrictions as well as expedited construction activity, access to the building had been restricted, however, familiarization to the space remained crucial prior to its opening in September.

Why is acclimation to the space so important?

From knowing where critical supplies and equipment are located, to staff wayfinding, to optimizingpatient throughput, this tool is incredibly significant, especially in a new facility where the individual unitsthemselves are approximately three times larger than their existing space at Rochester General Hospital.

Ironically, the 7-story, 312,000-square-foot tower was designed and planned well before the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the design is the exact kind of modern healthcare facility that health systems across the globe will now be looking to build. With characteristics like acuity adaptable patient rooms, this stateof-the-art facility will aid in providing care for a variety of patient types. And with ample flex and surge spaces, the facility is also prepared for a future pandemic surge.

In total, 48 program locations were programmed into the virtual model including locations in the NICU,Operating Room Suite, Post Anesthesia Care Unit, Postpartum Care Unit, and a standard patient floor.

Click here for a virtual tour of one of the patient bays (use mouse to look around).

Terry Meagher, a Senior Project Manager with Rochester Regional Health, has seen first-hand thebenefits of the simulation training.

“With limited time and availability to get into the space, the CPL virtual tours are a significant part of theoverall training program. These virtual models, which we have embedded into a variety of computerbased

learning modules, will be assigned out to all team members and physicians at Rochester General Hospital. This will allow individuals to have a base understanding on how to navigate the building as well as understand key workflows and critical pathways that are changing,” Meagher said.

Screen captures of a patient room (above) and a Nurses’ Station (below) taken from the virtual training model of the new Rochester Regional Health Sands-Constellation Center for Critical Care. The floor plan in the top left-hand corner of the bottom image allows the user to tour different locations in the actual training modal.

"Training modules were assigned in mid-August 2020 allowing team members about six weeks to complete."

“It’s extremely fulfilling to be able to offer this service to healthcare workers who have been under immense pressure the past number of months,” said CPL Principal Architect, Michelle Trott, AIA , NCARB, A.CHA. “We are all about making their jobs easier while increasing patient outcomes,” she added.

CPL partnered with TEKsystems, an industry leader in full-stack technology services on the final deliverable for Rochester Regional Health. q

Vince Press is CPL’s former Director of Communications. Please direct all inquiries regarding this article to Sarah Gibson, CPL's Director of Marketing.