UPMC Passavant: Creating the Ultimate Patient–Family Experience

From the first moment you arrive at UPMC Passavant, you’ll notice something decidedly different about the hospital. In addition to our state-of-the-art facilities and advanced clinical services, special touches, like valet parking, bellhop services, and a concierge to greet you, create a unique environment that is welcoming and comfortable. From specially tailored decor, including calming water features, to enhanced family waiting rooms, we’re not only creating a more advanced health care facility, we’re creating the ultimate patient family experience.

In addition to building a state-of-the-art facility staffed by renowned medical specialists, we also are creating the ultimate patient experience by offering spacious patient rooms, concierge services, family-focused amenities, and more,” says Teresa Petrick, president, UPMC Passavant. “At UPMC Passavant, we recognize that a patient’s health affects his or her family, too. Our mission is to welcome and include families and make sure that their individual needs are met.”

UPMC Passavant’s new, seven-story pavilion, which will open in early 2010, illustrates the hospital’s commitment to patient- and family-focused care. Each floor has been designed to provide patients and their families with as many comforts as possible, from easy-tounderstand signage, to patient and family resource centers, to waiting and respite rooms intended to reduce stress and encourage relaxation. The hospital’s entrance and exit routes have even been redesigned to make arrivals and departures easier.

Making Visitors Feel Welcome

Similar to an airport, UPMC Passavant’s entrance and exit areas have been separated from each other in order to reduce congestion, and to make it less confusing for patients and their families to get to where they’re going. A covered area outside the hospital can fit 14 cars for pick-up and drop-off, and includes valet parking.When construction is completed, the hospital will have 600 more parking spaces, and the front parking lot will be completely dedicated to patient parking.

Coming into the hospital, visitors will be guided to a Patient Information Center that will help them find their destinations, which are marked with color-coded signage. A concierge is on-site to answer any questions or to help with special needs, and a soothing water wall has been added at the entrance to provide a relaxing environment.

“One of the first things that people will notice is the amount of glass that’s been utilized in the new design in order to provide natural lighting wherever possible,” says Ms. Petrick. “The pavilion also has been designed to feature more open areas to make it user-friendly and improve visitor flow.”

The UPMC Cancer Center at UPMC Passavant

Located on the ground floor of the hospital, the UPMC Cancer Center at UPMC Passavant has its own separate entrance with dedicated elevators for cancer patients. A navigation station is located directly outside the elevators to direct patients to their destinations. Triple the size of the former Cancer Center, the new space features nine exam rooms, 20 infusion seats, chemotherapy rooms with beds, and a Patient Resource Center where visitors can access information through books, DVDs, and computers. Floorto- ceiling windows have been added to provide asmuch natural light as possible.

“The design for the new Cancer Center came out of our strategic planning meetings, and includes input from physicians, nurses, administrators, patients, and staff at UPMC Cancer Center administration,” says Libby Shumaker, director, ClinicalOperations. “It is designed to act as a ‘one-stop shop,’ where patients can see a number of different physicians, such as medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, and surgical oncologists, all in the same location. Patients can receive all of their treatments here as well.”

The expansion doubles the amount of infusion/treatment space currently available, as well as provides access to the most technologically advanced equipment and treatments, including stereotactic radiosurgery, a very specific, highly precise form of radiation treatment.

The center will include a satellite office of Creative Hair Solutions, an appearance studio designed to help patients adjust to hair loss that may occur during treatment. “We offer free, private consultations for patients who are thinking of getting wigs, as well as wig cutting, sizing, and alteration services,” says Pat Julkowski, who has worked with cancer patients for 15 years. “Even before treatment begins, we can help patients choose the right wig so that it’s ready when they need it.”

The Emergency Department

An expanded Emergency Department on the first floor of the new pavilion is designed to make patients’ visits as expeditious as possible. Double the size of the current emergency room, it will feature a “Fast Track” area to provide ease of access and discharge for patients requiring minor treatment.

In addition to an area for standard emergency care and an area for more critical patient care, patients will have access to state-of-the-art critical care rooms with CT scanner and direct ambulance access, an eight-bed observation area, and three trauma rooms.

Patients also will have their own separate pedestrian entrance, and children will have access to Austin’s Playroom, complete with fish tank and an interactive computer system developed by Carnegie Mellon University specifically for the hospital. Donated by the Mario Lemieux Foundation, Austin’s Playroom even has windows at “kid height,” so that children can look outdoors.

“In addition to providing more space for clinical services, the new pavilion’s user-friendly design will enable us to expedite patient visits, allowing them to be seen more quickly,” saysWilliam G. Kristan,MD, chairman, Department of Emergency Medicine, and medical staff president.

State-of-the-art Surgical Services

A substantial investment has been made in outfitting the pavilion with the latest technology available, most noticeably in its six new operating suites. These suites, which will bring the total number of operating rooms (ORs) at UPMC Passavant’s McCandless campus to 21, have been customdesigned to create the most advanced surgical environment available.

The six new rooms include an operating room equipped with a CT scanner that can be used for image-guided procedures and traditional operations; a hybrid angio suite where surgeons can perform both open procedures and minimally invasive surgeries; and a surgical oncology suite where both traditional and laparoscopic procedures will be performed. Two general surgery suites have been designed for neurosurgical use, and are wired so that surgeons can consult with other surgeons at off-site locations, as well as communicate with fellows and residents for teaching purposes.

All of the new operating suites feature multiple large screens, which enable surgeons to see x-rays and diagnostic studies from different directions and angles without having to leave the operating table. Surgeons can communicate both verbally and visually with a pathologist to make a more detailed diagnosis. Satellite offices for the pharmacy, blood bank, and pathology lab complete the surgical floor.

Expanding the ICU

A new, 16-bed Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CVICU) will bring the total number of ICU beds at the hospital to 47, and double its size. A full-time, board-certified intensivist will be available on-site 24 hours a day. “Between the physical plant itself, the surgical programs available, and the 24-hour coverage by attending-level intensivists, patients can get some of the best care in Pittsburgh,” says Thomas Schauble, MD.

Windows in the new, larger rooms maximize natural lighting, and a nurses’ desk is located outside every two ICU rooms so that patients can feel comfortable knowing that their nurses are readily accessible. All new wireless, GE cardiac monitoring equipment has been installed in both the original hospital building and in the pavilion so that patients can walk anywhere in the hospital and still be monitored.

Families can take advantage of a new waiting room, as well as a respite room where they can go to spend some time alone. The respite room features ambient lighting, soft music, recliners, a TV, and a computer, so that they can relax, or contact friends or family. There also is a family convenience room which features a shower and private bathroom.

A healing garden will be located between the two buildings, so that patients can look out onto it, and family members can enjoy walking along its pathways, or meditating in the labyrinth.

Privacy and Safety Focus of Patient Rooms

Twenty-four beds will be added on each of the fourth, fifth, and sixth floors of the pavilion. Each floor, which is 16,000 square feet, features flex monitoring capabilities in all rooms for patient safety. This portable monitoring system increases patients’ mobility as their heart and respiratory functions can still be monitored even if they are not in their room, or on the same floor. The pavilion also features amenities such as wireless access, room service, and motorized window shades to ensure privacy.

Each private room is identical in design for efficiency and safety in patient delivery, and is divided into three zones for the patient, family, and medical staff. The number of sinks was increased to provide numerous places where staff could wash their hands as a way to reduce the spread of infection. Decentralized work stations located between every four patient rooms keep nurses nearby, and a central nursing station is designed with an open floor concept in order to promote interaction with visitors and clinical staff.

“Staff nurses met regularly with the architects to discuss the different aspects of each floor to find the more efficient and effective way to work in the environment while ensuring patient safety,” explains Trudi Stafford, chief nursing officer and vice president, Patient Care Services. “In addition, they looked at best practices and what was being done at other hospitals to find the best possible design.”

Even as UPMC Passavant and the new pavilion provide access to expanded world-class services and state-of-the-art technology, the hospital maintains its commitment to provide exceptional patient- and family-centered care. “We will continue to provide an environment where patients can get the latest technology with uncompromising hospitality—now and into the future,” says Ms. Petrick.

CONCIERGE SERVICES AT UPMC PASSAVANT

Amenities Desk
Monday through Friday
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Services:

• Restaurants

• Hotels

• Shops

• Church schedules

• Driving directions

• Dry cleaning drop-off and pick-up service

• Postage stamps

• Car maintenance service

• Taxi, Access, and limo information

• Bus schedules

• Seasonal offerings (check with the concierge for more information)

NEW PAVILION GOES GREEN

As the first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-certified hospital
addition in the North Hills, the pavilion at UPMC Passavant is leading the way in environmentally sound construction.

The new pavilion will feature high- efficiency mechanical systems as well as an energy recovery HVAC system. The building’s impact on surrounding communities will be minimized through the use of acoustic barriers around the cooling towers to decrease noise pollution, low-noiseemitting tower fans, and lighting that is designed to completely eliminate light pollution outside the hospital grounds.

Permeable paving will reduce water runoff, and low-flush toilets will add to water conservation efforts. Organic compound materials and materials with a high recycled content also are being used to make the building healthier for patients and the environment.

UPMC Passavant–McCandless
9100 Babcock Blvd.
Pittsburgh, PA 15237
412-367-6700

UPMC Passavant–Cranberry
One St. FrancisWay
Cranberry Township, PA 16066
724-772-5300

For more information or a referral froma physician, call 1-800-533-UPMC (8762) or visit upmc.com/passavant