Equipment Booms Combine Clinical Advantages & Human Touch
“Main South, the recently opened 11-story clinical building expansion at Children’s Hospital Boston includes 48 new cardiac and medical/surgical ICU beds, a cardiac catheterization lab, inpatient echocardiography, and medical and surgical patient beds. While all this allows clinicians to offer leading-edge medical care, young patients and their families will also discover an environment carefully design for their comfort and mental well-being. “From the outset our primary focus was to create a family-centered unit” says RN Bev Small. “We wanted to create an environment that was friendly to the child and could provide added amenities for the family.”
Small, a 23-year ICU veteran and member of a multi-departmental committee that oversaw the expansion, explains that from the colors and artwork on the walls to the availability of natural lighting and openness of the patient rooms, everything has been carefully planned.
One solution has yielded expected and unexpected benefits. “We knew from the beginning we wanted to go with ceiling-mounted Booms,” explains Small. In addition to moving equipment and wires off the floor, Booms could provide a more open feeling to the rooms and allow 360° patient access. But as the committee worked with its selected vendor, TRUMPF Medical Systems, they found their own ideas and TRUMPF’s flexibility and experience were evolving a unique combination of significant clinical advantages and family-friendly solutions.
Clinical Solutions Beyond the Obvious
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Full patient access from all sides ensures fast, efficient care when time is most precious
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The committee met at TRUMPF’s Charleston, South Carolina Headquarters. “We explained our ideas and the modifications we would like to see in each Boom,” says Small. “Working more as our partner, TRUMPF not only went about implementing our requests, but built on them with additional suggestions and solutions. The results according to staff and patients has been nothing but positive.”
Several modifications, developed as result of Children’s Hospital and TRUMPF working together, have brought new efficiencies to emergency procedures at the unit.
Careful positioning of all equipment, communications and supplies on each Boom now allows clinicians to perform the ABC’s of resuscitation without stepping away from the patient or moving around to the back of the patient’s bed. |
“Everything can be done from one spot: the nurse at bedside can observe the patient, reach the ambo bag, begin to assist in ventilation and hit the Code button,” said Small. “It’s a time saver when time is at its most precious.”
Another innovation that allows clinicians to provide more efficient care is the addition of a surgical/task light on each Boom. “Now when an emergency surgical procedure is required at bedside there’s no time wasted running to find a surgical light and moving it into the room,” says Small. “It’s right there, at hand, ready to be used.” The same light can be used by the staff for routine examinations or procedures. When not in use the light is turned off and swung up and out of the way, returning the room to the indirect lighting and openness designed for the child’s comfort.
“Access to patient medication was an additional area where we worked with TRUMPF,” says Small. The result here is that new lockable drawers on the TRUMPF Booms provide keyless but controlled, regulatory-compliant access to certain patient medications, thereby reducing repeat trips back to the med station, saving steps and valuable time.
Human Touches Aid in Total Care
“As a pediatric unit, parents will often stay overnight in the room,” says Small. “Part of the expanded living amenities include custom sleep-spaces for parents in every room.” The Booms’ ability to swing 360° allows equipment to be moved out of the way so the child can maintain visual contact with the parent. “Seeing Mommy or Daddy are right there in the middle of the night contributes significantly to managing the young patient’s anxiety level, helping them to rest and speeding their recovery,” says Small.
The Booms are also being used to provide diversional activity for the patients. By mounting personal flat screen TV’s on the Booms the hospital has been able to replace traditional wall-mounted TV’s which were often difficult to see and hear for the child lying down. “With the Booms we’ve created an entertainment center comfortably positioned at the patient’s bedside,” says Small. The patients themselves have expanded on this solution, using the booms to display art work, mobiles and get well cards. “In some cases it’s amazing to see what they do with it,’ says Small.
Of course the human benefits extend to the staff and in turn benefit the patient. Having easy access to all equipment, gases, power and connections without having to bend over, stretch and strain, reduces staff stress and saves time and energy. This allows the staff to focus more attention and energy directly on the patient. In addition, subtleties like the ability to position monitors so nurses can have direct visual contact with the patient, while charting vital signs, keep the staff focused on the human being rather than the technology.
Patient Reactions Tell the Story
“The staff has been great and adapted better than we ever imagined,” says Small. For the best measure of success, however, she points to the patients. “Since we are a pediatric facility some patients have been coming here over a period of years. Their reaction is that they can’t believe the difference!”
Advice for Facilities
What advice would Small give to other facilities heading down the renovation or new building path? “Include the clinicians,” she says, emphasizing that as the day-to-day care givers they possess a knowledge and understanding that others cannot bring to the table. She also notes the importance of the mock-room that was built. “We brought in 90% of the staff over time,” she says. “The wish lists that were generated identified needs ranging from nurse’s computer alcoves and safes for the parent’s belongings, to hair washing sinks - which are very important to our teenage patients - and hand washing sinks for the parents in the lactation rooms.” Finally, Small recommends working with vendors who, like TRUMPF, will go above and beyond the call and work as your partner. “They were great,” she says. All this, according to Small, helped the committee fine tune everything and guided the final design to help ensure success.
