RTKL has begun construction on a new $106 million specialty cardiovascular facility in Plano, Tex. The Texas Heart Hospital of the Southwest will be 180,000 square feet of ultra-modern medicine in a 68-bed, four-level facility that will provide both inpatient and outpatient cardiovascular care at the Baylor Regional Medical Center. A partnership between Baylor Health Care System and 86 cardiovascular physicians and surgeons practicing in North Texas, the “Texas Heart Hospital of the Southwest will truly be a state-of-the-art, digital, ‘paper-light’ facility that is patient-centric throughout,” says John Castorina, AIA, principal in charge.

Bow-tie benefits sightlines
Castorina notes that the bow-tie shaped plan offers an effective way to maximize space, expansion patterns, and sightlines from caregivers to patients. “Having a nurse within eyeshot is very comforting for family members who are caring for and helping rehabilitate patients,” reports Castorina. “This design provides caregivers with direct lines of sight to patients from almost any spot on the floor.” He notes that as the health-care industry continues to grow while concurrently trimming costs, the care and rehabilitation of patients is increasingly falling on family members. To provide comfort and a sense of control for family members and patients, each floor has its own resource center where the family can obtain information and talk with other patients and families.

The all-private patient rooms encourage and reinforce the need for family interaction in the healing process by creating a clinical zone for the patient area and a family zone within the room. The two zones will be separated by a glass-enclosed fireplace and feature amenities such as individual thermostats. In addition, at Texas Heart, gone are the days of the wheeled lunch cart dropping off an unappetizing repast that’s rarely touched. Instead, the new hospital will implement hotel-like room-service, with healthful and attractive menu options.

Get them up and moving
Patients also have dedicated ambulation zones on every floor. “Patients who have heart operations typically must be up and walking within about 24 hours of surgery. They need to have their own space to walk comfortably and without interference,” says Castorina. All service corridors conveying staff and service carts are located out of public sight and hearing. This dedicated ambulation zone also allows the nurses to maintain good visual contact with the patients and increases their capability to respond when needed. The bow-tie shape also allows the ambulation zones to widen at the ends, encouraging social interaction among patients and families, an important element of patient recovery.

The architect also used the shape to enhance wayfinding, a common source of stress for hospital visitors and patients. Patients and families enter through one central location and are greeted by a concierge. “Once inside, there are only two directions to go,” reports Castorina. He also notes that wayfinding relies heavily on visual landmarks, such as a park outside the window, instead of directional signs because the visual cues are more effective and calming.

Integrated technology improves standard of care
Technology takes center-stage at Texas Heart Hospital: Information technology, medical equipment, and building systems are fully integrated. Medical records will now be stored electronically and linked throughout the facility, minimizing the potential for medical errors. The wireless environment includes digital picture archiving and communications systems and an automated medication dispensing system.

“In the past, hospitals have had separate computer systems in the labs, x-ray rooms, surgical departments, etc.,” states Castorina. “But the technology didn’t exist to integrate images like CT scans to other stations. The new digital systems are almost like artificial intelligence because it looks at patterns in the patient’s temperature, oxygen saturation, and other indicators. The providers are able to monitor patients and react before they reach medical benchmarks that determine a prescribed action. It also performs checks and balances for errors. For instance, it notifies the physician and sends a message to the pharmacy if there’s a question about medication prescribed. It’s really a wonderful thing in that it dramatically increases communication among all parties.”

Castorina also notes that the integrated system helps ease the pre-certification process, and the patient, at the end of a stay, is presented with one bill detailing all care provided instead of receiving multiple bills from a variety of caregivers. One last benefit of the new technology is reduced need for greet/information stations because patients and family members can now go to any station to obtain necessary information.

The hospital also provides an emergency department, diagnostic imaging suite, radiology room, nuclear medicine room, magnetic resonance imaging room, CT scan, four cardiac catheterization labs, two operating rooms, and two electrophysiology labs. The facility is scheduled for completion in January 2007.

—Heather Livingston

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