New, Renovated Hospitals Employ Direct Input from Those Receiving Care
health care, healthcare, jill hoggard green, mckenzie-willamette medical center in springfield, medical, oregon health & science university, peacehealth oregon region, pebble project, sacred heart medical center, sacred heart medical center at riverbend,
Hospitals can be overwhelming for patients and their families, but Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend is looking to change that.
The new facility, scheduled to open in August 2008, has been designed with near-constant input from patients, families and other community members. Its $350 million price tag made it the largest construction project in Oregon during 2006. When complete, it will be much more than a showcase for new technologies and treatments, says Jill Hoggard Green, chief operating officer for PeaceHealth Oregon Region.
“We have spent an incredible amount of time and resources interviewing patients to make sure we had a good understanding of what they really wanted from us,” Green says. “At the end of the day, we’re not just building a building, but a place where care can be safer, higher in quality – a true healing environment.”
The 1 million-square-foot hospital’s designers benefited from a steady stream of information from focus groups, individual interviews and other information from patients, who also have a voice through Sacred Heart’s Patient Council.
“We have always asked them if we’re going in the right direction,” Green says. “We have had patients sitting on teams, most recently as we redesigned our discharge planning process.”
PeaceHealth’s willingness to include patients at all levels of the RiverBend facility’s planning and construction was one reason it has been tapped to be a part of the Pebble Project, a group of healthcare organizations who are taking a proactive role in redesigning and retooling how they deliver products and services.
“One of the most important issues in the environment’s design, and something we heard very clearly from patients and their families, is that when someone is in the hospital, they feel very vulnerable – they want to have family members by their side,” Green says.
With that in mind, the 362 rooms at SHMC RiverBend all are private and spacious enough to ensure that family members may stay and be involved in the patient’s overall care plan, Green says.
Even as all this action is taking place, Sacred Heart’s University District location is preparing for its new life primarily as a research and development center. After the new hospital opens, a $94 million renovation will convert the current campus into a 104-bed hospital with a revamped emergency room, gerontology institute and programs for medical students from the University of Oregon and Oregon Health & Science University.
All this comes as McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center in Springfield plans to build a new hospital in the Eugene area as well, so there’s plenty for residents to be excited about on the health-care front.
“What I’m hearing in the community is that people can see the building now, and they’re getting a sense of something very special happening here,” says Brian Terrett, public affairs director for PeaceHealth Oregon Region, regarding SHMC RiverBend. “People are seeing that we’re keeping the promises that we’ve made, and they’re getting really excited.”
Story by Joe Morris
