FMC opens expanded, renovated intensive care unit

Floyd Medical Center’s newly renovated and expanded intensive care unit was designed to enhance the care for the hospital’s most critically ill patients. The unit was built to facilitate close monitoring by critical care nurses who are literally right outside each room.

The hospital’s renovation and expansion of the ICU involved increasing the square footage of the ICU, consolidating the ICU and coronary care unit and increasing the total number of beds to 26 from 24.

Unique to the design is the inclusion of nurses, physicians, therapists, other clinicians and even patients, said Lee Clevenger, FMC’s director of critical care and cardiovascular services.

A team of nurses, plant facilities employees and an architect visited a design center in Indiana to provide input on every element of design, including the placement of beds, medical equipment and commonly used items all while keeping sight lines open from almost any point of view, Clevenger said.

Working with Styrofoam walls, the team moved walls, doors and equipment, testing various locations from every perspective — even that of the patient, he said. A separate team used a similar process to contribute to the design of the nurses’ station and the family waiting areas.

The renovated waiting area is designed for how families use those spaces, with places to comfortably eat a meal, charge a phone or work privately on a computer, Clevenger said. Those changes, together with the changes to the design of the individual patient rooms, have enabled the hospital to Photo courtesy of Floyd Medical Center Lauren West (seated) and Rebecca Broome work in Floyd Medical Center’s ICU.

open visitation in the ICU. Family members can now check on their loved ones almost any time of day or night, with a few exceptions:

Quiet time is observed daily from 2-4 p.m. This time is reserved for the patient’s uninterrupted rest and healing.

Bundled care is observed from midnight to 3 a.m. daily. Like quiet time, this time is reserved for the patient’s uninterrupted rest and healing.

During bedside procedures or emergencies, visitors may be asked to step out of the ICU while clinical staff performs procedures or respond to crisis situations.

Because of the emphasis on rest and healing, patients are still limited to two visitors at a time.

FMC has closed the hospital’s old CCU on the fifth floor. This area soon will be renovated and converted to an 11-bed observation nursing unit. This space will be used for patients who come to the hospital with chest pain or other cardiac complaints and require extra medical observation to determine the extent of their need.

The ICU renovation and observation unit are part of a $20 million construction project that includes numerous hospital changes:

Renovation of the kitchen, located directly below the third-floor construction.

A new retail pharmacy, which is located in the space adjacent to the kitchen and cafeteria.

Renovation of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

Renovation of the Emergency Care Center to better accommodate an increased volume of behavioral health patients.