Issue 13: January 2013
Hospital Associates Successfully Transfer
New Patients Into New Addition
1
Teams from various departments came together and successfully moved and admitted new
patients into St. Mary Mercy Hospital’s new private patient rooms and new Emergency Center.
Each area had a separate move-in day; inpatients were placed in the new private patient
rooms on Monday, November 5, 2012, and the new Emergency Center opened on
Wednesday, November 14, 2012.
The move has been in planning for several months and required coordination from several
areas, including Patient Transport, TIS, Clinical Engineering, Nursing, Emergency Department
and many other departments.
2
“Everyone jumped in and did what they needed to do,” said Sarah Gilbert, director of strategic
projects, Campus Development, St. Mary Mercy Hospital.
Bill Makela, operations project coordinator, Campus Development, St. Mary Mercy Hospital,
added: “I am proud that the moves were successful and that the hospital has reinvigorated
itself in order to be the most trusted healthcare provider for even more people in our
community.”
3
4
Move teams for the inpatient moves met Sunday evening, the day before the inpatient
move on November 5, to discuss final move plans. Teams started moving inpatients into the
private patient rooms at 8 a.m. and ended the day 4 p.m., taking a break in between. A total
of 75 patients were placed into the new rooms and they received a plush blanket, a note
from President and CEO Dave Spivey welcoming them into the new space, and a get well
card made by children who attended the community open house of the new addition held
October 28. It took an average of six minutes to move a single patient from the North Wing into
2-South and 3-South.
The opening of the new Emergency Center required teams to move equipment at 11 p.m. with
the new Emergency Center opening six hours later on November 14. At 5 a.m., seven patients
from the old Emergency Center were transferred into the new Emergency Center; about 15
minutes later, the first new patient arrived there. Patients came in non-stop from that time
forward, and by early afternoon, all 53 beds were occupied with patients until early morning the
following day. At the end of opening day, the new Emergency Center had seen 135 patients.
“Even with the high volume, the staff remained calm and focused on patient care,” said
Karen Bostick, director, Emergency Department, St. Mary Mercy Hospital.
Photo 1: Denise Lawrence, Patient Care Associate; Sheryl Ficano, Patient Care Associate, and Marco Hammond, Patient Transporter,
St. Mary Mercy Hospital, welcome patient Kevin J. Chmiel (right), 50, of Plymouth, into the hospital’s new addition on November 5.
Photo 2: Emergency Department staff gathers for a photo taken before the patient move to the new Emergency Center on
November 14 (left to right): Aimee Lansky, ED tech; Ursula Clark, RN, Shift Administrator; Joanne Danczak, RN; Betty Lubar, RN,
Nursing Director; Clarissa Schick, RN; Paul Sugai, RN
Photo 3: Emergency Department staff gather for a photo taken during the opening of the new Emergency Center on November 14
(left to right): Beth Curry, RN; Mikki Favor, RN-ED Educator; Jennifer Mattson, RN; Michael Calice, MD, Emergency Medicine; in the
background, Jeannie Dwyer, RN; and Heather Plinka, RN.
Photo 4: Donna Gray (right), chief nursing officer, in the Command Center for the patient move, discusses the placement of
inpatients into the new private rooms.
Ongoing Transformation:
Hospital Starts North Wing Renovation
Following the completion of the new addition in the South Wing,
St. Mary Mercy continues its mission of “healing mind, body and spirit”
with transforming the patient areas in the North Wing.
The renovation of the 90 semi-private patient rooms in 5-East, 4-East and
3-East/MCU will include comforting amenities to meet patient and family
needs like pressure-reducing mattress, a recliner, sleeper sofa, an upgraded
shower with a “spa-like” feel, and a flat screen TV. The renovated rooms
will have the same finishes and materials, such as flooring and tile, as the
private patient rooms in the South Wing. Most of the semi-private rooms
will be converted into private patient rooms. St. Mary Mercy Hospital will
maintain its 304-bed licensed bed count.
Renovation work on 5-East started in November after patients were transferred to the new addition. Expected completion
of 5-East is late summer 2013.
The North Entrance will also go through a future change: a new north canopy will be constructed using the same design
elements and finishes, such as the glass and metal, as the South Wing. The new canopy will also transform the North
Entrance into a covered drive, protecting visitors from weather elements when they use the area.
Construction of the new North Entrance canopy will start sometime early 2013. At that time, the hospital will open
a temporary North Entrance, which was constructed late fall 2012 before cold weather would have prevented
workers from pouring cement for sidewalks. Construction barrels are blocking access to the temporary entrance until
construction of the North Entrance canopy begins.
“The completion of renovations to the North Wing of the hospital, our patients and visitors will see a new and cohesive
St. Mary Mercy,” said Sarah Gilbert, director of strategic capital projects, St. Mary Mercy. “It not only makes the facility
contemporary, but also strengthens our ability to provide comprehensive, coordinated, and compassionate care to
our community for years to come.”
Construction Updates
Construction crane:
To make a gift to the
Generations Together
Campaign for the
construction project,
call the Development
office at 734-655-2980.
A construction crane arrived on campus in December
2012 for workers to move and bring in construction
materials on the patient floors at different periods during
the 18-month project. The crane will start on 5-East and
move materials through a window in order to minimize
construction movement in clinically active areas.
(Top photo at right)
Temporary North Entrance:
Before cold weather settled in, concrete was poured for
a sidewalk and a canopy was installed for a temporary
North Entrance late fall 2012. The hospital will use the
temporary North Entrance when construction of the
North Entrance canopy begins sometime early 2013.
(Middle photo at right)
Renovation begins on 5-East:
Follow construction updates online at
stmarymercy.org/constructionupdates
or on Twitter @stmarymercy.
Patient floor 5-East closed for renovation starting
November 5, 2012. Besides converting most of the semiprivate patient rooms into private rooms, renovation
plans include upgraded showers with a “spa-like” feel,
same finishes and materials as the new patient rooms
in the South Wing, and addition of a supply room and
Pysix medication station in each patient wing hallway.
Most of the semi-private rooms in the North Wing will be
converted into private rooms. The 5-East renovation is
expected to be completed late summer 2013.
(Bottom photo at right)