UMC Health System - Physician Notes

TO KEEP UP WITH THE EVER-INCREASING REGIONAL DEMAND FOR ADVANCED CARE, UMC HEALTH SYSTEM HAS EMBARKED ON AN AMBITIOUS EXPANSION PROJECT THAT WILL HELP US ACCOMMODATE MORE TRANSFERS AND DECREASE THE AMOUNT OF TIME PATIENTS SPEND WAITING FOR A BED. UMC HEALTH SYS TEM achieved a milestone in 2016: e hospital received 13,000 patients from South Plains physicians and other regional partners, alone. "e demand for our services is greater today than it's ever been," said Betty Cornell, vice president of Medical-Surgical Services at UMC. "However, the number of transfers we have to deny is also on the rise and has increased 49 percent from this time last year. When we drilled down into that number, we realized that 63 percent of transfers were denied because we had no bed availability." INCREASING OUR CAPACITY In September 2016, we broke ground on a construction project that will bring 45 new step-down beds to the medical-surgical unit located on the third floor of our main campus East Tower. irty beds are designated for intermediate care, and 15 beds are designated for Intensive Care Unit (ICU)-level critical care. Because the beds are being built in the universal care model, however, we can accommodate ICU patients in intermediate rooms as necessary. In addition to bringing more beds to the hospital and cutting down on transfer wait times, the 45-bed expansion — slated for completion in fall 2017 — will bring the latest technology to UMC. Each private room is equipped with advanced bedside monitoring capabilities, lift equipment built into the ceiling, and smart TVs programmed to provide education about the hospital and our services, admission procedures and other protocols. "Currently, if patients need assistance with ambulation, we have to bring portable lift equipment into their rooms," Cornell said. "Transporting this equipment takes up valuable nursing time — time that will soon be available for other critical tasks." In addition to the 45 new patient rooms, the floor will also house new "smart" conference rooms where physicians can access medical records and other care documents to share with patients' family members. "ese rooms will help increase patient and physician satisfaction," said Zach Sawyer, director of construction at UMC. "Anytime we have an opportunity to expand and create new beds, it's exciting and helps ensure patients throughout the region have access to the latest technology." FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE UP-TO-DATE SERVICES AVAIL ABLE AT UMC, VISIT UMCHEALTHSYSTEM.COM. GROWING TO SERVE 6 PHYSICIAN NOTES /// WINTER 2017

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