Final Phase of Expansion Underway
FINAL PHASES OF ED EXPANSION UNDERWAY;
3 NORTH UNIT ON TRACK FOR APRIL OPENING
COVINGTON - Spring brings two noteworthy developments for St. Tammany Parish Hospital’s $21 million expansion project: The April opening of 21 new private patient rooms and visible work on the final phases of the multi-year construction project.
The all-private patient rooms in the hospital’s 3 North medical/surgery unit incorporate elements of the St. Tammany Hospital Foundation’s Healing Arts Initiative, which promotes art as a component of the healing process.
The new unit uses color and light to offer a soothing diversion for patients, while light fixtures glow at their edges with slowly changing colors. An amber-toned nightlight setting allows STPH clinicians to examine patients during the night without disturbing them with harsh lights.
Other elements of the wood-accented rooms in 3 North are similarly designed to reduce noise and help patients rest. They include rubber-based flooring to muffle sounds and multiuse “touchdown” areas so healthcare providers can discuss plans for care away from patient rooms.
“Patients come here to rest, and the ‘touchdown’ spaces contribute to a quiet, restful setting,” said STPH Chief Nursing Officer Kerry Milton BSN RN MSHA.
Recent progress on the hospital’s Emergency Department signals the start of the home stretch for the two-and-a-half-year project that will add 8,600 square feet and create new, specialized treatment areas for pediatric, geriatric and mental-health emergencies and trauma care.
Targeted for completion in 2016, this largest and last phase of the Emergency Department expansion is comprised of three elements:
- A permanent walk-up entrance to replace the temporary entrance
- New waiting areas for pediatric and general emergency patients
- New areas to handle pediatric emergencies
“This is one large phase, and we will work on all three elements simultaneously,” said Randy Willett, project manager.
Through it all, the Emergency Department’s focus has remained on providing quality patient care, and patient satisfaction reports reflect that. Those scores have remained in the 90th percentile nationwide throughout the construction period at the hospital and along Tyler Street, Milton said, and the number of emergency patients has grown during that time.
“Keeping our focus on the quality of care has allowed us to see rising (patient) satisfaction scores, even as we’re expanding the Emergency Department,” she said.
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A full-service acute care facility committed to providing world-class healthcare and the latest technology, St. Tammany Parish Hospital delivers today’s life-improving procedures with the utmost care to area residents with emphasis on wellness, preventive care and disease management close to home. STPH is a self-supporting not-for-profit community hospital; it receives no tax funding. STPH.org