Relax: Hospital ahead

By Pamela Glason Thornton
City Editor
Union County Post

When driving along the highway and the blue sign denoting a hospital appears, relaxation is not the first thing that comes to mind. The new Dublin Methodist Hospital aims to shift the focus from traumatic situations to relaxation – a result of being healed. Naturally, hospitals focus on healing 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Many changes from the traditional types of care exist at Dublin Methodist. The environment is relaxing and efficient and designed to contribute to life.
Visiting hours are flexible within private rooms that are able to accommodate several family members according to requests. In preparation for future patient-care demands, the number of beds within the entire facility can be expanded.
As part of care delivery, treatment services are provided using state-of-the-art information technology and equipment that can be brought bedside for immediate use.
Hospital developers considered making all facets of the patient experience more convenient. “This facility brings hospital care close to home,” said Cheryl Herbert, R.N., president of Dublin Methodist Hospital, who is involved with the daily operations of the hospital.
Dublin Methodist, a completely digital, wireless and paper-lite environment, combines function and patient care needs. In addition to a quieter, wireless staff paging system, the hospital and patients benefit from an electronic medical record system and automatic prescription pharmacy call-in systems. The contemporary processes improve the accuracy of recordkeeping and expedite the ordering of prescribed medications.
“ The tools we have inside this hospital will not only help us be more efficient in our day-to-day duties,” said Tom Harmon, MD, medical staff president. “It will help bring us closer to our patients and their families and that is the ultimate goal.”
The first hospital built in Central Ohio within 23 years, Dublin Methodist, a member of the OhioHealth system, has blended natural elements into its main lobby that includes trees and a waterfall. Upon entering the lobby, visitors are greeted with a relaxing environment.
“ The design was chosen to aid the healing process. It is our goal to make the experience more relaxing,” said Herbert, who took part in the initial hospital design plans.
Features that stand out and appeal to patients include flexible visiting hours and access to the Internet where patients can order meals, e-mail friends or surf the web for entertainment.
The hospital was designed to meet the needs of a population that resides and works in the surrounding area. The demographic of Dublin includes a large number of children along with the majority of residents who are middle-aged – between 35-50 years. Given that residents are on both ends of the age scale, the facility includes an Emergency Room and Intensive Care Unit and addresses services that range from labor & delivery to surgery.
“ As we continue to grow, we must have immediate access to healthcare for residents and employees who work at Dublin businesses,” said Dublin Mayor Marilee Chinnici-Zuercher.
An adjacent medical office building houses physicians’ offices and specialized care providers who are nearby to provide supplemental medical services.
“ People will be able to get a lot of their healthcare needs in one location. It is our way to try to decrease stress for the people who work and live here,” said Herbert.
“ In many ways, Dublin Methodist Hospital completes our city,” added Chinnici-Zuercher.
“ We’re very excited about Dublin Methodist Hospital and think it will be a great resource for the community and a great source of pride for our associates,” said David P. Blom, president and CEO of OhioHealth.
Herbert noted that finding trained healthcare professionals to staff the hospital was not difficult because Columbus and the surrounding area give access to an abundant pool of registered nurses.
“ Everybody is concerned about delivering the safest care possible and making the experiences as pleasant as we can,” said Herbert.
OhioHealth’s Dublin Methodist Hospital officially opened its doors and “went live” on January 8 and is a resource for care to a variety of patients.
The hospital staff, providers of services in emergency situations, stands prepared to react to trauma. “Anytime somebody is killed in an accident or a person has a heart attack and dies they are in pretty traumatic situations,” said Herbert.
Helicopter transportation for life-threatening situations allows patients’ immediate needs to be met. According to Herbert, when necessary, patients are transported to another hospital to receive care.
“ Our decision to build a new hospital was based on community need, and we’ve seen extraordinary growth in this part of central Ohio. Dublin Methodist Hospital will complement our existing family of healthcare services and help us increase access and quality of care throughout central Ohio – furthering our mission, to improve the health of those we serve,” said Blom.
Dublin Methodist’s environment was implemented through the Pebble Project, an ongoing research effort with The Center for Health Design and other healthcare facilities that will provide documented results that serve to shape patient care in the future.
“ Hospitals have traditionally been built around the needs of caregivers. The Pebble Project has provided solid and growing evidence that creating healthcare environments centered around the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of patients positively impacts the natural healing process,” said Herbert.
The $150 million hospital was designed by Karlsberger and built by Elford/Gilbane Building Company. The completed facility stands out and seeks to make a difference regarding patient care quality, work life quality and other factors related to its operation.
Other central Ohio OhioHealth hospitals are Riverside Methodist Hospital, Grant Medical Center, Doctors Hospital and Grady Memorial Hospital.
To learn more about Dublin Methodist, go to the Web site, www.
ohiohealth.com.
“ Most people hope they don’t have to go to the hospital but if they do, Dublin Methodist is a good place to visit,” said Herbert.