Avera Specialty Hospital’s many safety aspects make it leading edge
Oct. 14, 2019
This paid piece is sponsored by Avera.
When the Avera Specialty Hospital on the Avera on Louise Health Campus welcomes patients and their families this fall, most will not realize the many hours of meetings, planning and exploration that went into every square foot of the site. The professionals working there know these plans quite well – their voices, ideas and experiences helped shape the facility.
“Patient safety was the center of everything we considered as we shared our knowledge with the architects and the building design team,” said Rachel Barnett, nurse manager for the inpatient unit at Avera Specialty Hospital. “They listened to us, and they realized the expertise we’ve developed at Avera McKennan was valuable. Many small design elements are everywhere, all of which will help us give better care, have safer patients who will have good experiences at this hospital.”
Leading-edge, but proven in practice
Avera Specialty Hospital puts safety first in myriad small ways, and some may be completely new to those who visit the building, such as the innovative use of bacteria-killing UV lights.
“These lights, which we use in key places such as the operating suites, reduce bacteria counts across the spectrum, making those rooms where the light is used as clean as possible,” said Heidi Johnston, nurse manager of the Avera Specialty Hospital post-anesthesia care unit, or PACU. “Not only does the UV light work when it’s on, but it continues to do it job, killing bacteria, even when the lights are off.”
Sterilization facilities at the hospital are also leading edge and include the use of hydrogen peroxide gas and separate dumbwaiter systems for used and unused surgical devices. Each small piece adds to the safety net the facility offers.
“Throughout the schedule of each day’s procedures, teams will clean the pre- and post-rooms, as well as all the PACU bays,” Johnston said. “Our team partners with the housekeeping staff, and this collaborative effort ensures we’re offering the best-possible environments for recovery and care.”
Beyond equipment and rooms
Applying the many lessons learned at Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center, health care providers at Avera Specialty Hospital will have an innovative communications system, along with enhanced patient-response options.
“We have secure staff-communication systems that are integrated and connect everyone on our team through text and calls, as well as connecting us all to the patient call-light system. Anyone can reach out for help without leaving the patient’s side,” Barnett said. “We can coordinate our care seamlessly, from nurses to patient-care techs to therapists to doctors.”
To make the work of staff more efficient, allowing them to maximize the time spent face-to-face with patients, dozens of angles and spaces were used to reduce clutter, improve lighting and safety, and to keep everything clean.
“The setup is really distinct so that things are easy to reach when you’re with a patient – dressings or other supplies we may need are handy, so we don’t need to run and get it,” Barnett said. “Monitoring equipment is bigger, and we need each square inch of space to help our teams. A few inches could make a huge difference.”
Learn more at Avera.org/onlouise.
