For caregiver communication, technology is the nurse’s friend. A sophisticated patient call system has features that allow patients to better convey their requests to the nurse. The nurse-call hand-held device has message options. The patient can press either a general request button or need-specific button for pain medication, water or toileting requirements. The call system has specific tones to alert the staff. Long gone are the days of the “call bell.” When life-threatening emergencies occur, nurses have only to press a nearby button to activate the hospital’s emergency response team.

Faithful to our vision, embracing our objectives of safety, compassionate care, and efficiency, we met our goal: operating rooms designed for patient safety in a staff-friendly futuristic environment. This was accomplished by high-level integration systems, shelving suspended from the ceiling to house equipment for surgical cases, high-definition video, flat-panel monitors, state-of- the art LED lights with cameras, computers, automated medication delivery systems, in-room video monitoring and direct access communication to a secure station.

The primary focus of Environmental Services is cleaning the facility, which is an around-the-clock responsibility. At any given time, EVS Techs, as they are called, can be found cleaning anything from a patient room to a public restroom and lots of flooring in between. Although the types of areas to be cleaned vary widely, the goal remains the same, to provide a clean environment that is safe from an infection-control perspective and one that is aesthetically appealing.