LEVELING UP: How the New Children’s Hospital and Medical Center Tower Will Improve Patient Care and Nursing Education By Amy Prindle
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he end is in sight for construction of the new 268-foot tall Medical Center tower. The project is currently on schedule to be completed at the end of 2020, opening for operation in May of 2021. It’s easy to be enamored with the updated architecture and aesthetics of a new building. However, the buzz among nursing students, faculty, and front-line staff is often about the considerable increase in space. For a long time, despite having the appropriate expertise, staff and equipment to meet the needs of the community, lack of available room would be a frequent limiting factor. Simply having more space will directly impact the patient experience from beginning to end. It will also allow for more effective educational observation.
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Here’s a glimpse of the many far-reaching benefits the new tower will provide:
More jobs If there’s one thing that dominates a nursing student’s mind as they progress in their educational journey, it’s where they can find a job. Fortunately, more space and increased services means the ability to care for more patients at a time. Additional staff will be hired to cover this expansion.
Larger, single-patient rooms More space means bigger rooms. All admitted patients will have their own room in the new tower, each with a private bathroom, a window and plenty of natural light. The square footage of these rooms were also designed with a patient’s family and support system in mind. Every individual space will also have a recliner and sleeper sofa for overnight stays.
