UCF Lake Nona Hospital – Setting the Standard for High-Quality, Patient-Centered Care

By Staff Writer

Since opening two years ago, UCF Lake Nona Hospital has lived up to the high expectations that were set for Lake Nona’s only full-service hospital. Created through a unique partnership between the University of Central Florida and HCA Healthcare, the nation’s most extensive health system, UCF Lake Nona Hospital has established a new standard of healthcare for the whole family.

The technologically advanced hospital has been growing faster than projected, running ahead of expectations in all areas. The medical staff has grown to more than 450 affiliated physicians, including specialists in primary care, cardiology, colorectal surgery, thoracic surgery, general surgery, gastroenterology, orthopedic surgery, pulmonology, nephrology, OB/GYN, gynecological oncology, infectious disease, neuro health sciences, spine and urology.

Before the hospital began construction in 2018, no other facilities in the Lake Nona area were designed to serve the adult patient population: Nemours Children’s Hospital and Orlando VA Medical Center, the two primary hospitals in the area, provided care for children and veterans respectively. To serve the re- gion’s unmet need, the UCF Lake Nona facility opened with 64 inpatient beds and a 20-bed emergency department, with ample capacity for expansion in future years.

The hospital benefits from the expertise, clinical knowledge and practices available across HCA Florida Healthcare’s network of 50 hospitals, 570 affiliated sites of care, 11,000 physicians and 77,000 colleagues and over 7 million patient encounters annually.

Overall the HCA Healthcare network encompasses to 182 hospitals supported by approximately 2,300 ambulatory sites of care in 20 states and the United Kingdom.

This enterprise supports the physical, mental, professional and financial health of its 294,000 colleagues and invests in a variety of benefits and resources to help improve their overall well-being, so they can provide comprehensive and compassionate patientcentered care for the communities it serves.

In the two years since it began serving the Lake Nona community, UCF Lake Nona Hospital has earned high marks for quality patient satisfaction. Since opening in March 2021, hospital departments have consistently ranked among the nation’s top 10 percent in patient satisfaction scores. Currently the hospital’s surgical services department is ranked first out of all HCA Healthcare hospitals for patient experience, and in the 99th percentile in Press Ganey, the industry’s leading human experience platform.

“This feedback reflects the voices of our patients,” said Wendy H. Brandon, FACHE, CEO of UCF Lake Nona Hospital. “These high scores are simply unheard of in healthcare.”

Innovative And At The Forefront Of Change

UCF Lake Nona Hospital is transforming medical care by providing some of the most advanced technological tools and procedures. Recently, the learning-focused hospital became HCA Healthcare’s first Care Transformation and Innovation Hub (CT&I) to change how care is delivered to meet today’s demand for better, more efficient, and more effective patient care.

“The uptick of demand for healthcare services, coupled with accelerated progress in the digital space, creates an opportunity to transform the way we deliver care for the ultimate benefit of our patients,” Brandon said. “The designation as an

Innovation Hub through HCA Healthcare is a great honor, and our team is ready for the challenge of taking the delivery of healthcare excellence to the next level.”

CT&I builds on HCA Healthcare’s legacy of innovation and aims to transform the future of patient-centered care. The CT&I team is working to identify, build and roll out new technology solutions and process innovations that will create better outcomes and experiences for care teams and patients.

The work being done is designed to enhance the patient experience, create more face time between providers and patients, and improve both quality and safety in the delivery of healthcare. CT&I also works alongside HCA Healthcare nurses to better understand current processes and help generate insights to inform future innovations.

FLORIDA’S ONLY LEED GOLD HOSPITAL

This spring UCF Lake Nona Hospital earned LEED Gold certification, the first and only hospital in Florida to achieve this green building designation. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, (USGBC), is the most widely used green building rating system in the world and an international symbol of excellence.

“Sustainability is a growing priority and we are excited about this recognition by the USGBC,” Brandon said. “It’s a major milestone and testimony to the cumulative efforts and innovative work of our HCA Healthcare project team.”

The designation recognizes the hospital’s commitment to sustainable building products and energy-saving operations, including:

• Systems that reduce water use, including sinks, toilets and showers, that conserve 767,908 gallons of water per year –equivalent to nearly 6 million bottles of drinking water

• Native landscaping that reduces water consumption by nearly 600,000 gallons of water each year

• High efficiency LED lighting and other systems that save over 21% in annual energy costs, as compared to standard design and construction practices

• On-site recycling, recycled and sustainable building materials, and the fact that 75% of the building waste during the hospital’s construction was recycled

Through design, construction and operations practices that improve environmental and human health, LEED-certified buildings are helping to make the world more sustainable. In the U.S. alone, building account for almost 40% of national CO2 emissions, but LEED-certified buildings have 34 % lower CO2 emissions, consume 25% less energy and 11% less water, and have diverted more than 80 million tons of waste from landfills.

“This is an exceptional accomplishment for both UCF and HCA,” said Amy Pastor, USGBC Central Florida Board chair. “You are among the best and you will be known worldwide for this.”

“LEED was created to make the world a better place and revolutionize our buildings and communities by providing everyone with access to healthy, green and high performing buildings,” said Peter Templeton, president and CEO of USGBC. “UCF Lake Nona Hospital is a prime example of how the innovative work of project teams can create local solutions that contribute to making a global difference.”

Caring For Families From Day One

In just two years since opening its state-of-the-art Family Birthing Unit, UCF Lake Nona Hospital has welcomed 2,000 babies to Lake Nona. Featuring modern, suite-style facilities, the new unit is designed to provide a more comfortable, supportive, and private experience for expecting parents and their families.

At the Family Birthing Unit, mothers can labor, deliver and recover in boutique specialty birthing suites, which come equipped with everything the family needs for a safe birth. The spacious rooms feature a range of amenities for patients and visitors, room service, WiFi, 55-inch smart TVs with streaming services, and space for one guest to stay overnight.

For overnight births and those requiring around-the-clock care, the Family Birthing Unit is staffed 24 hours a day and seven days a week by a dedicated obstetric team who can provide care until the patient’s personal physician arrives. Parents with specific birth preferences, including low-intervention births, can be accommodated as well.

As part of UCF Lake Nona Hospital’s commitment to supporting parents before, during and after a birth, the Family Birthing

Unit offers maternity, childbirth, breastfeeding and newborn care classes for the whole family, including siblings.

LIFE-CHANGING WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY

The hospital is also the site of life-changing care for bariatric patients who qualify for weight loss surgery. Sheila O’Ben went from 289 pounds to just 145 after undergoing gastric bypass surgery a year ago at UCF Lake Nona Hospital.

Obesity, characterized by a BMI of 30.0 or higher, is a common disease that impacts more than one in four adults statewide. This widespread public health risk is expected to become more prevalent over time, according to the Florida Department of Health.

Living with obesity can be limiting and isolating in daily life, and it can also lead to a range of related complications, such as joint pain, difficulty breathing, cholesterol problems, hypertension, sleep apnea and fatigue. Adults with obesity are at a higher risk for severe weight-related illnesses like type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer, as well as an increased risk of premature death.

Surgery is not a stand-alone treatment for obesity, and UCF Lake Nona Hospital’s bariatric team works collaboratively with the patient to select an appropriate treatment option based on health and lifestyle needs. As part of the treatment process, patients are screened for eligibility and counseled extensively about nutrition, exercise and supplementation requirements to ensure a safe procedure and a healthy recovery.

After visiting her primary care physician recently, O’Ben said her doctor couldn’t believe the change in her health. She has been able to discontinue multiple prescriptions, including cholesterol and acid reflux medications, due to her successful weight loss.

“I’m doing fantastic and living a normal life. It’s awesome to see family members who haven’t seen me in a while. They have to look twice and barely recognize me,” she said.

LIFE-CHANGING AND TRANSFORMATIVE MEDICINE

The hospital has brought life-changing technological advancements to Central Florida for many patients. It was the first Orlando-area facility to offer MRI-guided focused ultrasound for the advanced treatment of essential tremor (ET).

Central Florida’s first focused ultrasound patient Patricia Hawley was one of the more than 10 million Americans (an estimated 3% of the population) who live with ET, making it the most common movement disorder in the nation. Her involuntary shaking posed substantial hurdles in the normal activities of her daily life. As a school teacher Hawley had lost the ability to write years earlier and was no longer able to keep her daily journal.

“For patients who qualify, MRI-guided focused ultrasound provides an incision-less treatment option, performed on an outpatient basis with short recovery time and often immediate results,” said Dr. Nizam Razack, a neurosurgeon at UCF Lake Nona Hospital who performs the procedure. “This procedure can help restore independence and provide relief for individuals suffering from debilitating and progressive tremors within hours of treatment.”

The procedure, which was approved by the FDA in 2016 and by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in July 2020, presents minimal risks, making it a strong alternative to existing surgical treatment options. Lake Nona is home to a large population of older adults, who are at a higher risk of being diagnosed with ET or Parkinson’s tremor, and noninvasive treatment options such as focused ultrasound can significantly improve independence, ability and quality of life.

“I am so happy and cannot believe the difference! After 15 years, I can write again,” Hawley said.

Innovation in medicine is a driving principle for UCF Lake Nona Hospital, and another new advancement is needle knee arthroscopy. Pioneered by orthopedic surgeon Dr. Vonda Wright and other UCF Lake Nona Hospital orthopedic surgeons, this new technology uses imaging sensors, LED light and image management to allow patients a less invasive arthroscopic surgery, during which they can stay awake under local anesthesia.

“This technology allows the patient to be a partner in their medical care as they see their joints in real-time and understand the treatment, minimizing patient risk and optimizing recovery in musculoskeletal surgery,” said Dr. Wright. “Needle arthroscopy is a game changer using only small points of entry, no general anesthesia, very little pain medications, no need for opioids, the procedure leads to extremely rapid recovery.”

Shorter downtime, less scars and fast recovery means returning to normal activity sooner, and in some instances, patients walk out of the hospital following the procedure.

As the hospital begins its third year of caring for the Lake Nona community, its leader reflects with gratitude for all her team has accomplished together.

“It has been exciting to see UCF Lake Nona Hospital achieve the vision we all had from the beginning of the hospital of the future, delivering high-quality, patient-centered care with the latest technology,” Brandon said.

“A new era of healthcare has arrived, and I couldn’t be prouder of our colleagues who made it possible.”