Enhancing Patient Care: Nursing Perspectives on GBMC's New Units in the Louis and Phyllis Friedman Building

In November 2023, GBMC proudly unveiled its state-of-the-art units in the Louis and Phyllis Friedman Building, marking a significant milestone in the hospital's commitment to advancing patient care. Officially designated as the Fran and Mark Harris Patient Care Unit 42 - Medicine/Oncology and William C. and Suzanne Eck Higinbothom Patient Care Unit 52 - Medicine/Stroke, the new spaces have been transformative for staff and patients alike.

An overarching theme to summarize the experience on the units is that the meticulous planning and consideration that preceded the design, construction, and move into the new space has paid off.

“One of the immediate victories we’ve celebrated as a team is the sheer beauty and functionality of the new units,” says Rachel Ridgely, MS, RN, CNML, Director of Emergency Services, Critical Care and Medicine/Telemetry. “The spacious rooms, equipped with modern bathrooms, have vastly improved the patient experience." The enhanced nursing flow afforded by the ample space within the rooms has streamlined patient care, allowing nurses to attend to their duties more efficiently.

From the clinical perspective, the nurse servers and supply cabinets with both inside and outside access further optimize workflow, ensuring that necessary supplies are readily available. "Access to technology has been great," Rachel says. “We appreciate the potential that the sophisticated technology on the units offers, like the Epic monitors that display essential patient information and computers in every room. Nurses have quick access to critical data at their fingertips, which is very convenient.”

She reiterates that success in this arena is essentially as predicted and is a testament to the thoughtful pre-planning and preparation of a diverse multidisciplinary team.

As with any transition or project implementation, opportunities for improvement have arisen along the way. “We knew going into it that having units significantly larger than our older units would mean more walking,” Rachel says. “So, it isn’t a huge surprise that we’ve had to be more intentional about staffing assignments and being creative about cohorting staff to specific sections of the unit to alleviate some of the time spent walking from one end to another.” Temperature regulation in the larger rooms has presented some unexpected challenges, requiring adaptive problem-solving strategies. The nursing team continues to collaborate with GBMC’s IT team to identify solutions for certain technology glitches experienced on the units.

“Although there have been changes to adapt to, the benefits of the design and accommodations available in the new units vastly outweigh the challenges,” says Rachel. “We look forward to continuing to optimize our work on the units to make experiences as rewarding as possible for staff and as comfortable as possible for patients.”