Saint Anthony Medical Center’s Newly Renovated Intensive Care Unit

Compassionate Care, Top Notch Technology
Critical care is fast becoming the core competency for many acute care hospitals. With the aging of the Baby Boom generation, hospitals will have to satisfy an exploding demand for intensive services. Saint Anthony Medical Center recognizes this trend and has taken a proactive approach by looking at a holistic reevaluation and redesign of its critical care unit.

For the past 18 months, Pam Cook, RN director of Intensive Care Unit/Intermediate Care Unit, has spearheaded a planning team to create the new Intensive Care Unit at Saint Anthony Medical Center. Rob Florkiewicz of Engineering, served as project manager, and Karin Kolisz, Associate Vice President, managed the administrative and financial details of the project.

“The intensive care unit is not merely a room or series of room filled with patients attached to interventional technology; it is the home of an organization that has a very high patient, doctor ratio - the intensive care team. This team – doctors, nurses, therapists, nutritionists, chaplains and other support staff, builds an environment for healing. Each member brings different skills to the table - compassion is the common element,” Cook said.

According to Cook, whose 30 years of nursing experience has been in critical care nursing, critical care nursing has special demands and can be intense. This is what draws nurse such as Cook in – especially leaning on faith in what can be dark times for families in crisis.

Patient Focused Design
The new unit was designed to meet the needs of patients, families, staff, and physicians.

Decorated in warm, healing earth tones the new unit is located on the second floor of the medical center, nestled in between the Spiritual Care Services Department, and near the Corpus Christi Chapel, as it should be.

“A large healing component of this unit relies on the gifts of the Spiritual Care Department,” noted Cook as she pointed out a special conference room for families in need of counsel.
Cook said the new unit was designed with a team approach.“We had input from staff and took their ideas built the unit from a ‘shared vision’ approach. Input from the various committee members was instrumental,” she commented.

Staff nurse Marla Sharkey, who has worked at Saint Anthony Medical Center for 16 years, has been involved in the planning of the new unit.

“With the new design we have accomplished several objectives. A major achievement has been in the area of technology. We are on the cutting edge and will be able to provide patients with the best possible care in comfort and safety. The new design will provide more efficiency for staff which will in turn allow more time with direct patient care and involvement,” Sharkey said.

The nurses’ stations are strategically located in each unit that allows for quick, responsive access to patient beds.

Because the ICU nurses are more directly in contact with their patients, their time is used more efficiently in direct patient care. At the same time, patients often are less anxious because they know that the nursing staff is right outside their door.

In addition, caregivers at each of the nursing stations are within eyesight of each other. Nurses can easily see when one area needs help, and move to offer assistance. It is a very functional design from both a communication and visual perspective.

Family Comfort
The new design has also allowed comfort for families in need, creating an extra space for families creating a warm, welcoming environment.
Sharkey noted that in critical care medicine family involvement is an important part of the healing component.

“Patients in critical care most often cannot make important decisions for themselves. The moral support of loved ones is crucial. In our new design, we have added areas that are more conducive for meetings, communications and interactions with the family,” she said.
In addition to a special conference room for families an extended waiting area for out of town families is equipped with a bed, TV, and shower facilities.

Innovative Technology
Along with the hospital design, the technology incorporated in the design of the new unit is state-of-the-art.

Ceiling-Mounted Booms Enhance Care
Patient rooms in the new state-of-the-art unit offer the most advanced patient care and monitoring systems built into the facility's infrastructure.
In the second-floor critical care rooms, patient beds are purposely not attached to the headwalls so they can be positioned in any direction in the room. With these freestanding beds, nurses and physicians can have 360° access to patients requiring intensive care.

High-tech equipment booms are mounted from the ceiling in the Critical Care Unit for maximum maneuverability. With lifesaving monitoring devices such as cardiac monitors safely mounted on these moveable ceiling booms, the medical staff can rotate the equipment rapidly and with great precision. Medical pumps and lines are off the floor and out of the way.

The ceiling mounted support systems provide better ergonomics and are safer for patients and staff.

Saint Anthony’s president, Seth Warren is excited about the new unit and its team.

“The team has taken a progressive approach to bring Saint Anthony to the forefront. We are committed to the community we serve in all areas of care,” he noted.
Looking to the future, Warren said forging ahead in technology and continuing to offer an ever-increasing array of medical services, “our medical staff, nurses, technicians and ancillary staff, along with our compassionate volunteers, are ever cognizant of how important it is to serve our patients and their healthcare needs.”

“The Sisters of St. Francis Health Services, Inc. and Saint Anthony Medical Center have a commitment to those we serve and look forward to serving our community. Our mission in serving our patients will continue to remain committed and certain,” Warren said.