Thirty-six years have passed since Riverside opened a new hospital and almost everything about the industry has changed in the intervening years.
When Doctors’ Hospital opens in May, it will be Riverside’s first new construction since Walter Reed Hospital opened in Gloucester in 1977. It will also be the first piece of a major new development in the city of Williamsburg. What’s now a hospital in a field will someday be a hospital in the middle of the Village at Quarterpath, a mixed-used community with a major road connecting Quarterpath Road to Route 199.
The community will get its first peek at the new building from 1 to 4 p.m. April 14, when a time capsule will be buried, to be opened in 50 years. When the hospital opens, visitors will see signs of the land’s past; a display of artifacts found during an archaeological study will be mounted outside the café. Artifacts include a platter, a decorative hinge and a coin from the 1600s.
Nearly everything about the new hospital has been designed with patients in mind, according to Arlene Messina, the director of nursing and patient care operations. She said the collaborative design process has allowed medical professionals to sit down with architects and contractors to come up with a design suiting everyone’s needs.
In older hospitals, pharmacies are often inconveniently located on the ground floor or to the rear of the building. In the Doctors’ Hospital, the pharmacy is centrally located on the second floor, where patients and their families can stop to get prescriptions on their way to the elevators. “It’s important because the pharmacist has a lot of interaction with the families, patients and staff,” Messina said.
She is most excited about the comfort and functionality of the patient rooms. As doctors and nurses approach the rooms, they’ll check an electronic screen for the patient’s medical information. Computer desks swivel to face the patient’s bed, enabling nurses to type while keeping eye contact with patients and their families.
In the seven-bed Intensive-Care Unit, each room has floor-to-ceiling windows with blackout shades. The hospital mattresses are “top of the line,” Messina said, noting they provide low vibration and allow patients to easily shift. The furniture in the hospital’s seven ICU and 33 patient rooms is highly flexible; every chair and sofa has wheels. Sofas pull out, allowing family members to easily stay the night with their ailing loved ones.
Many features are designed to improve staff safety and productivity. In the trauma and operating rooms, nearly all equipment is mounted on booms, keeping the floor free of tripping hazards. Nurses and surgeons working in the operating room will find long surgeries more bearable, because a portion of the floor is padded below to provide extra support. Everything in the room can be turned to suit each surgeon, whether he or she is right- or left-handed.
Communication between staff members will be aided by technological upgrades. Every nurse and doctor will carry a special phone, similar to an iPhone, where he or she can be reached by staff. In patients’ rooms, a nurse needing assistance can check a tracking system to see who might be in the best position to help at that moment. A patient’s hospital band will be scanned into the hospital’s computerized system, showing staff what medications the patient will need.
The Williamsburg area has a large retiree population, and the hospital will reflect their needs. The hospital’s large windows take advantage of natural light, and overhead lighting is indirect. The wood floors were designed not to be shiny, and wave patterns were inlaid to signify patients are close to a nurses’ station.
The halls of the hospital are already buzzing with activity as staff begins to set up work stations. The hospital has hired 219 staff members. They’re currently attending retreats, where they’re discussing their goals for the workplace. It’s rare for a staff to open a hospital, and the employees are relishing the chance to create something from nothing.
In the pre- and post-operation unit, staff marveled over their similar values and senses of humor. Nurse Kirk Erickson said it was refreshing, and they all agreed their shared priorities are “open lines of communication and leadership.”
“We agreed on the most important thing, and that’s how we make the place safe,” said Kathe Ware, manager of surgical services.
In the coming weeks, staff will participate in training days similar to dress rehearsals. For hospitals, there are no soft openings. Once Doctors Hospital opens its doors, it’s ready to treat patients. “We’re going to push as hard as we can to be ready,” Messina said.
Riverside began its efforts to build a hospital, which will compete with Sentara Williamsburg Community Hospital in upper York County, in 2003. Development was delayed as Riverside worked to demonstrate a need for medical care in the city. The state health commissioner approved its Certificate of Need in May 2009 after citizens mailed 2,500 letters of support. The 100,000-square-foot facility cost $65 million to build, and broke ground in July 2011.
