Housecall Winter 2009

House Call A QUARTERLY PUBLICATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS FOR MEDICAL SCIENCES

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NEW

UAMS HOSPITAL OPENS

WINTER 2009

House•Call Winter 2009

editor Susan Van Dusen art director Laurie Shell managing editor Liz Caldwell creative director Keith Runkle

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Welcome

from Chancellor I. Dodd Wilson

t is my privilege to welcome you to the new hospital at UAMS.

Our staff has devoted itself wholeheartedly to creating a hospital where our patients and their family members are surrounded by comfort, hope and healing.

From the minute you walk into our spacious and light-filled lobby, we want you to know that this is a place where your health care needs come first.

A dream for many years, this new facility will make it possible for more Arkansans to receive life-saving and life-enhancing treatment offered by our physicians and other health care professionals. From our state-ofthe-art Emergency Department and neonatal intensive care unit to our technologically advanced surgical suites, UAMS’ hospital has at its core the mission of improving the health of Arkansans in all stages of life.

In addition, our Psychiatric Research Institute, which opened in December 2008, significantly raises the bar on mental health care and research in Arkansas. The fact that UAMS again offers inpatient psychiatric services after a more than 30 year absence is truly a milestone.

I hope that you will join me in thanking Gov. Mike Beebe, the Arkansas Legislature and our many individual donors for their dedicated support in making the hospital and Psychiatric Research Institute a reality. With their help, we will be able to meet the health care needs for Arkansans now and in the years to come.

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I. Dodd Wilson, M.D. Chancellor, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences

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writers Liz Caldwell Kate Franks Nate Hinkel Cozetta Jones Jon Parham David Robinson Susan Van Dusen photographer Johnpaul Jones editorial advisory board Kathy Alexander Jerry Atchley Anne Bynum Cindy Pugh Dale Ronnel Carla Spainhour Judy Snowden Becky Tucker

chancellor Dr. I. Dodd Wilson vice chancellor of communications & marketing Pat Torvestad associate vice chancellor of communications & marketing Leslie Taylor assistant vice chancellor of communications & marketing Tim Irby HouseCall is published quarterly by UAMS Office of Communications & Marketing, 4301 W. Markham St. #890, Little Rock, AR 72205-7199 Phone: (501) 686-5686 Fax: (501) 686-6020

Read current and archived issues of HouseCall online at www.uams.edu/housecall.

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Winter 2009 Leading the Way

Insight from two administrators

What They’re Saying

Prominent Arkansans weigh in

A Hospital of Tomorrow … Today

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Special Delivery

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Handled with Care

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Show me the Way

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Hospital 4-1-1

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Out with the Old

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Latest & Greatest

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Healing by Design

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Comfort Zone

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A Mind of Its Own

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Planning for the Future

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An overview of the new facility

A new home for UAMS’ tiniest patients

How to move a hospital

Finding your way around

The hospital at a glance

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Why UAMS needed a new hospital

Technological advances at every turn

Special touches add character and efficiency

The importance of patient satisfaction

A look at the Psychiatric Research Institute

UAMS looks ahead

On the cover: UAMS' history and future converge with opening of its new hospital.

Cover photo: Johnpaul Jones uamshealth.com

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Leading theWay

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Insight from top administrators Dick Pierson and Melissa Fontaine

hen discussions about a new hospital began at UAMS seven years ago, leading

the way were Dick Pierson, who is vice chancellor for clinical programs and executive director of the UAMS Medical Center, and Melissa Fontaine, who is chief operating officer. Both oversaw the hiring of financial consultants and architects and coordinated with the design team, clinical departments and a steering committee that made it all work.

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Why is a new UAMS hospital important to the people of Arkansas?

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Dick Pierson: Over the last several years we’ve had to turn away patients simply because we didn’t have beds for them. The new hospital gives UAMS the capacity to help us fulfill our statewide mission to patients. In the meantime, UAMS is working to educate more health care professionals who can care for our aging population, and the new hospital will provide much-needed education space.

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How will the hospital help UAMS provide comfort, hope and healing for its patients and their families?

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Dick Pierson: From the time our guests walk through the front door, I think they’ll be moved by the open atrium and its abundant natural light. With all private patient rooms, no longer do patients have to worry about disturbing a roommate or vice versa.

The spacious patient rooms include a sleeper sofa, and a large window offers panoramic views of Little Rock. The larger space also helps our caregivers to maneuver medical equipment and to assist patients.

A uniform design of our patient floors helps our staff provide efficient, consistent care that’s reassuring to patients and their families.

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Melissa Fontaine and Dick Pierson

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What features make the new hospital building special?

Melissa Fontaine: Probably of most interest is that we now have all private rooms. We also have incorporated the very latest technology to improve efficiency and make treatments more convenient for patients. The hospital includes new space for equipment, teaching and patient comfort, and it is designed to adapt to changing times.

What lasting impressions do you hope the new hospital will leave for its patients and visitors?

Melissa Fontaine: When people leave our hospital, I hope they will feel like their care and services were excellent. The building’s amenities will help create a positive impression of UAMS, but we also understand that the building is simply a means to an end. Our ability to provide the best treatment and care will be the final measure of any visitor’s lasting impression of UAMS.

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“The staff at UAMS has an international reputation for providing state-of-the-art care to patients from around the world.

This tremendous addition will help us further build upon our ability to provide unmatched medical treatment. The impact of this hospital stretches beyond health care, contributing to economic development in Arkansas for generations to come.” - Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe

“UAMS continues to grow as an internationally renowned institution that Arkansans can be proud to have in their state. The opening of the new hospital provides an even greater dedication to providing access to quality health care throughout the state. The Psychiatric Research Institute is a major step toward meeting desperately needed education, research, care and access to the mental health needs of Arkansans.”

- Sen. Bob Johnson, of Bigelow, president pro-tem-elect

“UAMS is truly a treasure to the University of Arkansas System and to Arkansas.

The doctors, nurses and all who take care of patients have always provided exceptional care. It is exciting to know that this new facility will provide the same great care in Prominent Arkansans agree such a beautiful, spacious and that the hospital technologically advanced new will have a big impact setting.”

What They’re Saying

- Dr. Alan Sugg, University of Arkansas System president

on the state

“UAMS is a worldwide leader in innovative health care research and treatment and serves as a source of pride for Arkansas. This new hospital is an investment in the future of quality health care in our state.”

“Arkansans are lucky to have access to an internationally recognized educational, research and health care institution like UAMS. The addition of the new hospital will further extend a commitment to the world-class care that people associate with UAMS.”

- Rep. Robbie Wills, of Conway, incoming speaker of the house

“The new UAMS Medical Center and Psychiatric Research Institute will open a new and exciting chapter of medical services for the people of Arkansas.”

- Phil E. Matthews, president and CEO, Arkansas Hospital Association

- U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln

“UAMS is an international leader in medical research and innovative techniques, which has benefited Arkansans in countless ways. This new hospital will expand UAMS’ ability to offer cutting-edge health care opportunities and improve the quality of life for all our communities.”

- U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor uamshealth.com

“With the addition of the new hospital and the Psychiatric Research Institute, UAMS continues to show everyone what’s possible in Arkansas — a worldclass health care facility of which the people of this state can be extremely proud.”

- Warren A. Stephens, chief executive officer, Stephens Inc.

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A Hospital of Tomorrow…

Today

New facility delivers quality care in comforting, high-tech surroundings By Jon Parham

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he original hospital at UAMS opened 53 years ago with modern amenities for its patients and caregivers.

The same can be said about the gleaming new hospital that takes its place — but “modern amenities” are much different in 2009 than in 1956.

Simply calling it “modern” does not account for the bigger, more welcoming, more accommodating, more 6

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high-tech, more private and more efficient hospital that has opened as a Gateway to Healing.

From the native Arkansas limestone columns in a bright, airy lobby to the all private adult and neonatal inpatient rooms, hospital administrators and designers focused on elements that created comfort, hope and healing for UAMS patients and their families.

“Space has been a critical need as we’ve added new technology over the years.”

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 New Landing Pad

The hospital at UAMS ushers in a new era of health care for Arkansas.

“This is not the hospital of today, it’s the hospital of tomorrow — unlike anything we’ve known,” said Dick Pierson, UAMS vice chancellor for clinical programs and UAMS Medical Center executive director.

The hospital has larger units for treating the tiniest and the most critical patients. It includes more operating rooms, along with a new and larger clinical lab, Radiology Department and Emergency Department. uamshealth.com

Sitting atop the new hospital tower is a new landing pad for emergency medical transport helicopters, giving pilots an easier approach than the pad located amid several buildings.

Ron Crane, UAMS emergency preparedness manager, said that along with the better location, the new landing pad is bigger and stronger. It can handle the weight of most any helicopter in use, including a military UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter.

A large elevator, capable of holding a stretcher, equipment and medical personnel, provides direct access from the roof to the Emergency Department, labor and delivery, surgery and intensive care units. “For a high-risk pregnancy transport, they used to have to take a circuitous route through the hospital,” Crane said.

The landing pad is equipped with a decontamination suite to allow patients or workers exposed to hazardous materials to be cleaned before entering the hospital.

Still, it’s not just the increase in space but an upgrade in accommodations. A look through the hospital illustrates how an aesthetically pleasing décor could be combined with the latest in patient care technology.

Patient-Focused Private Rooms When the

original hospital opened in the mid-1950s, semiprivate rooms were the norm. Rooms were built for as many as five beds in some units. » House•Call

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Resource Center

The Tenenbaum Foundation Patient and Family Resource Center is a focal point for information for patients and families.

Visitors from out of town can find hotel, restaurant, church, shopping and other useful information. Health care information also will be available as well as reading materials.

With comfortable seating and tables, the center was envisioned as a quiet place for visitors “to get away.” Using the wireless Internet access available throughout the hospital, it also could serve as a place for checking e-mail or getting some work done.

Now UAMS patients can expect private rooms that recognize how privacy and pleasant surroundings can boost the healing process. Earthy, natural shades and colors echo Arkansas’ status as The Natural State, while high ceilings make the rooms feel more open.

A sleeper sofa allows families to stay comfortable and close. Rooms also include a 26-inch flat-screen TV. Patient bathrooms with larger doorways are more accommodating for those in wheelchairs. Bathroom doors can be opened even wider to accommodate a stretcher.

For nurses, the rooms have a sink, locking cabinets and supply carts, putting needed supplies and medications within reach in a safe and more efficient location near the bedside.

“The planning of the new patient rooms took into account the needs of the nursing staff, the needs of the patient and the needs of the family, which allows our nurses to more easily deliver care,” said Mary Helen Forrest, UAMS chief nursing officer.

The hospital now has a formal and prominent entrance.

ER, ICU, NICU Specialized units enjoy more space,

technology and elements designed to improve efficiency of care.

Patients in the Emergency Department (ED), often called the emergency room or ER, have private rooms.

Previously, ward-style rooms in the old ED had three or four beds.

“Private rooms are a growing trend in emergency care because of privacy rules, safety and patient

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satisfaction requirements,” said Andre Prudhomme, ED clinical services manager, who noted that the private rooms have removable walls so the unit can expand to serve up to 54 patients in the event of a large-scale emergency.

The ED features a general X-ray room and a computed tomography (CT) scanner, eliminating the need to transport patients for imaging.

The intensive care (ICU) and intermediate care units are larger. Previously, Forrest said, critical patients often had to be kept in the ED or post-surgery unit, while waiting for an ICU bed to open up.

“Those other units are busy areas that do not allow for private rooms, making them relatively noisy and not conducive to patient comfort,” Forrest said. “These additional beds allow more efficient patient placement and more satisfying care in a private room environment.”

The smallest patients, those in the neonatal intensive care unit, have a new space that incorporates some of the latest thinking and technology for their care. Private rooms will allow caregivers to better control climate, keep lights low and minimize noise.

New Clinical Lab, Radiology The lab where diagnostic tests are conducted also moved to a larger location, nearly doubling in size. Open around the clock, there are as many as 100 people working in the clinical lab at any time.

The organization that inspects clinical labs cited UAMS in the past for its space constraints, said Sue Scott, clinical laboratory director.

“We have been limited in the new testing that we could bring into the lab because of the lack of space for the equipment necessary to do that testing,” Scott said. uamshealth.com

The new space accommodates new equipment as well, including upgrades to tools for analysis of blood samples and other specimens. Scott said the lab’s closer proximity to the operating rooms and the new ED allows quicker responses on lab tests.

Marvin Stricklin, the Radiology Department administrator, noted that when the original hospital was built, there were no MRI or CT scanners and many other imaging procedures did not exist.

“Our old space was never designed for MRIs or CTs,” Stricklin said. “Space has been a critical need as we’ve added new technology over the years.”

As in the case of the lab, location of the new radiology section is important, he said. Interventional radiology, where more invasive imaging tools are used, is closer to the operating rooms where patients often need those procedures.

Other imaging tools have been moved to the units where they are needed. The ED has its own CT scanner and the Psychiatric Research Institute has an MRI that is used for clinical programs and also research.

Change Starts at the Front Door Visitors to

the new hospital notice the change in atmosphere when they pull through the circular driveway to the glass front doors or ride the elevator from the parking deck to the new lobby. Gone is the walk from the parking deck, down the long, narrow hallway in the old hospital. As Pierson noted, the hospital now has a formal and prominent entrance.

The limestone columns, terrazzo floors, large windows, chandeliers and a two-story-high ceiling give the new Josephine Raye and Doyle W. Rogers Lobby a welcoming and spacious feeling with an emphasis on natural materials.

Adding to the lobby’s atmosphere is another gift, a Steinway grand piano made possible by the Stella Boyle Smith Trust. The instrument can be used for special events or provide soothing preprogrammed background music.

Patient admissions is mere steps from the front entrance. The new lobby is integrated into the lobby of the hospital’s existing Ward Tower, which has now uamshealth.com

been reworked to accommodate patient discharge services. Ward Tower, opened in the 1990s, pivots off the new hospital building with the circle drive in front of both lobbies, making for convenient patient drop-offs and pickups.

Also nearby will be the relocated UAMS Gift Shop, which will enjoy a location close to the new Lobby Café, visitor elevators and Tenenbaum Foundation Patient and Family Resource Center as well as on the concourse leading to the UAMS Outpatient Center. The larger gift shop will carry a wider selection and focus on items that help patients and visitors while they are at the hospital.

“From top to bottom, this new hospital is a milestone in the evolution of UAMS and our ability to serve our patients and the medical needs of Arkansas,” Pierson said.

 Lobby Café

Among the visitor and family resources conveniently clustered near the hospital lobby is the Lobby Café.

The menu ranges from coffee, soft drinks and juices to sandwiches, salads, pastries, fruits and other snacks. The café, open 24 hours a day, includes seating for 60 and is located close to the visitor elevators, giving quick access to family members who need something to munch on. It also can accept call-in and to-go orders.

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Special Delivery

New unit brings big changes for Arkansas’ tiniest babies

By Susan Van Dusen

They’re tiny.

Unbelievably tiny.

You can’t imagine how tiny they are until you peer into an incubator and see for yourself — a baby who would practically fit in the palm of your hand.

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hat might be regarded as one of UAMS’ best kept secrets, the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) has an extraordinary history of caring for the state’s smallest and most fragile newborns.

The unit’s move to the new hospital will signal significant advances aimed at improving care not only for the infants, but also for their families — a change called familycentered nursing care.

“About 2,000 mothers from across the state deliver at UAMS every year, and about 1,000 of those babies spend at least some time in the NICU,” said Dr. Whit Hall, NICU medical director and professor of pediatrics in the UAMS College of Medicine. “We have designed our new unit to offer a positive environment for healing and nurturing these babies.”

In addition, the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology also is focused on family-centered care and has expanded its staff to include more women physicians. “We are committed to offering the best possible experience for all new mothers who deliver at UAMS through superior prenatal care, labor and delivery, and postpartum care,” said Dr. Curtis Lowery, department chairman.

In its former home, the NICU was divided into four separate traditional-style nurseries, each containing 10-20 beds: critical care for babies weighing less than 2 pounds and requiring mechanical ventilation; intensive care for babies weighing less than 4 pounds; special care for larger babies requiring IV therapy; and the progressive nursery for babies needing feeding support.

All of that changes in the new hospital with the inclusion of 58 private neonatal rooms containing 64 total beds. (Some rooms are equipped for twins.)

These little fighters are some of UAMS’ biggest success stories.

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Private rooms for preemies are a rare find, but Hall and his staff believe strongly in the benefits and had handson input into every aspect of the design.

“The babies we treat have serious health concerns, particularly the micro-preemies who are born at less than 29 weeks gestation. They shouldn’t be out of the womb yet, so everything they encounter, such as light or noise, is a stressor to their development,” Hall said.

A pregnancy normally lasts 40 weeks, and a baby is considered premature if he or she is born prior to 37 weeks gestation.

By placing each baby in a private room, noise level and physical stimuli can be reduced. However, the new setup does offer a new set of challenges for the nursing staff that must now monitor babies in separate locations as opposed to one large room.

To solve the monitoring challenge, each nurse now wears a monitoring device attached to her clothing and programmed to signal her in the event of a baby’s low heart rate or other concern requiring immediate attention.

Central monitoring stations also keep constant watch on each baby’s condition.

“With the monitoring system, we can stay in touch with the babies and still let the families have some alone time in the private rooms,” said Martha Rabaduex, a registered nurse and clinical services manager. “That hasn’t been possible with the way our nurseries were set up in the past.” » House•Call

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Family Time Because each baby has a private room,

parents can stay with their son or daughter for as many days, nights or weeks as they choose. The intensive care rooms are furnished with a twin-sized sleeper sofa and rocking chair, in addition to the medical equipment required for the baby’s individual condition.

A family support area includes a kitchen, two showers, a laundry room, a family education room and six rooms with twin beds for additional family members.

Twenty suite-like rooms have private baths and a more home-like atmosphere.

“As a baby progresses and the parents can practice more of their parenting skills, those are the rooms we plan to make available to them,” Rabadeux said.

The suites also will be used to keep newly delivered moms and their babies together.

The UAMS Social Work Department and outside organizations such as the March of Dimes will provide programs to assist the new parents, and the UAMS Family Home will continue to provide five rooms designated as temporary housing for family members as needed.

“On average, babies stay in the NICU until they reach an age that coincides with what would have been 37 weeks gestation. So for a baby born at 30 weeks, he or she would probably spend about 12

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seven weeks in the NICU, barring any unforeseen complications. Being able to spend at least some of that time staying in the same room with your baby will help tremendously with bonding,” Hall said.

Bonding Together While Hall praised the nursing staff as “the most important thing we are moving to the new unit,” the facility also will be enhanced with plenty of new equipment. New beds, warmers that convert to incubators, new IV poles and new monitors are just some of the upgrades.

A $31,750 grant from the Gertrude E. Skelly Charitable Foundation gave a significant boost to the unit by funding a new program called Neonatal WAVES (Web-based Audio Video Education Support).

“WAVES will enhance our existing Angel Eye program and add additional equipment to help us monitor the noise level in each baby’s room,” said Shannon Lewis, a registered nurse and pediatric outreach coordinator.

ANGEL Eye is an online system by which parents and other family members can view their baby in the NICU via a secure Web site. Lowery created the program to aid in bonding for new mothers and their babies. It is part of ANGELS (Antenatal and Neonatal Guidelines, Education and Learning System), a nationally recognized telemedicine program also started by Lowery.

“Because so many of our new families live outside central Arkansas, circumstances often prevent them from spending as much time as they would like with their new baby,” Lowery said.

“Parent-child bonding is so essential in the early weeks of a baby’s life, and we believe that even just seeing your child on a computer screen helps in that process.”

The new NICU will have Web cams mounted in several rooms, with the ultimate goal of having one in each of the 58 private rooms. The WAVES uamshealth.com

component will add audio to the Web cams, so that parents also will be able to talk to their babies, the nurses or each other if one is at the hospital room and the other is home.

The tiniest babies — those who stay in the NICU the longest — will most likely be given priority for the WAVES Web cams, Lewis said. “The families’ responses to ANGEL Eye have been wonderful from the time it was begun in 2006. And now that the babies will be able to hear their mothers’ voices every day, it will help even more with bonding and recognition.”

Fifteen decibel monitors also were purchased thanks to the WAVES grant. The monitors are

programmed for the amount of noise that each individual baby can safely tolerate. If the noise level goes above what is programmed, a light will signal those in the room to lower their voices.

“Sleep deprivation is a serious problem in preterm babies. We want to provide minimal stimulation to keep them calm and decrease their stress,” Hall said.

As a baby ages, his or her noise-level tolerance is increased, and the monitors are adjusted as needed.

“All of the advances that we added to our new NICU are designed to help the babies bond with their parents and get better rest so they can hopefully grow a little bit faster,” Hall added. “It should be a much better quality stay for the parents and the babies.”

 Reaching Out

Dr. Curtis Lowery developed UAMS' ANGELS telemedicine program.

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The ANGELS program at UAMS takes the expertise of Arkansas’ only board-certified maternal-fetal medicine specialists to women in the far corners of the state through the use of telemedicine and a 24-hour call center.

Through telecommunications technology, ANGELS (Antenatal and Neonatal Guidelines, Education and Learning System) allows the specialists to provide longdistance consultation with primary care doctors and their high-risk pregnancy patients.

One of ANGELS’ many programs is its telenursery rounds. Three times weekly, Dr. Whit Hall consults via interactive video with 12 hospitals across the state. That number is soon expected to increase to 24. Hall is medical director of the UAMS neonatal intensive care unit.

“During telenursery rounds, Dr. Hall checks in with all of the nurseries at once to get reports on babies who have been transferred and to see if they have space to admit any babies healthy enough to be moved closer to their hometown,” said Shannon Lewis, a registered nurse and pediatric outreach coordinator.

ANGELS is a partnership with UAMS, the Arkansas Department of Health and Human Services and the Arkansas Medical Society. Dr. Curtis Lowery is its founder and director.

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en months before UAMS’ sparkling new hospital opened its doors, planning was under way for the daunting climax: the move.

Relocating a family or business may seem like the quintessential hassle; it disrupts lives and things tend to get damaged and misplaced. But consider moving a major hospital like the one at UAMS. With 300 patients, including fragile newborns attached to sensitive life-support equipment, there was no margin for error.

The weekend move was demanding, but the most tedious, time-consuming part by far was the planning, said Dick Pierson, vice chancellor for clinical programs and executive director of the UAMS Medical Center.

Mary Ann Coleman takes a rest in an eco-friendly E-crate (see sidebar).

Divide and Conquer The

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HandleD Care

with

planning involved a steering committee that oversaw the work of six task forces and national consultants with expertise in making large, safety-focused patient moves. The groups took over an empty room on the first floor of Ward Tower and made it their planning headquarters.

Collectively the groups had to ensure that the new facility was properly furnished, that all equipment was hooked up and ready, that nurses and other caregivers were thoroughly familiar with their new work areas, that communications with employees were effective and that everyone knew the drill on moving day.

Ten months of planning ensured a safe hospital move

By David Robinson uamshealth.com

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Hospital 4-1-1 Dialing up information on your new UAMS Hospital

The old Student Dormitory that stood at the site of the new hospital was imploded on Feb. 19, 2006, which was 1,062 days before the Jan. 16, 2009, hospital dedication ceremony.

The Lobby Café is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

An estimated 17,000 truckloads of dirt were removed from the hospital site prior to construction.

Twenty-one patient care units with about 300 patients moved into the new hospital over a two-day period in January.

The 34 private exam rooms in the Emergency Department have removable walls, allowing UAMS to serve additional patients in the event of a large-scale emergency.

The hospital connects directly to the UAMS Outpatient Center, allowing convenient access for clinic patients who need to come to the hospital for tests.

Seven new operating suites give the hospital a total of 19 operating rooms.

The tiny patients in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) were the first patients moved into the new hospital.

An unfinished or “shelled” floor in the hospital allows space for future growth and 60 additional adult beds.

The new operating rooms are equipped with an imaging system that can share images, voice and data with other services on campus, allowing the surgeon quick and direct consultation without leaving the operating room.

The new parking deck has 1,000 spaces for patients, visitors and employees.

Each floor of the new hospital is about two football fields in length.

Wireless Internet access is available throughout the new hospital. uamshealth.com

The 58-room private neonatal intensive care unit includes six rooms equipped for twins for a total of 64 beds.

Arkansas limestone was used in the columns inside the hospital lobby.

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Out Old

with the

Forward-thinking design replaces 1950s-era structure

By David Robinson

Mary Helen Forrest visits a new nurses station.

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ot long ago, Dick Pierson visited a patient at UAMS’ old hospital.

“How was your night?” asked Pierson, who is vice chancellor for clinical programs and executive director of the UAMS Medical Center.

“Well, I didn’t get much sleep,” said the patient, who was sharing a room with a patient who had a persistent, hacking cough.

Her unpleasant experience was hardly a surprise, but it illustrates one of the many problems in the old hospital that led to UAMS’ new, allprivate-rooms hospital.

“The old hospital rooms simply lacked the space for families to stay around to comfort their loved ones,” Pierson said. “The rooms were too small for families, and the size made it almost impossible for the staff to do their work. There were just a lot of reasons for us to correct the problem.”

In fact, the shared patient rooms were so cramped that when patients on the far side of the room had an emergency, the near-side patient’s head had to be lifted to make room for a stretcher, said Mary Helen Forrest, chief nursing officer.

Even to the casual observer, UAMS’ half-centuryold hospital is a relic of hospitals past. Common amenities are lacking in patient rooms and bathrooms, the heating and cooling systems are antiquated, plumbing infrastructure is outdated, and the wiring and electrical outlets are inadequate for a modern hospital.

“Renovation just wasn’t practical,” Pierson said.

sheer volume of patients in recent years created a bed shortage.

“The new hospital gives us desperately needed adult, ICU and neonatal beds and state-of-the-art operating rooms to help us provide the best care possible to our patients from Arkansas and beyond,” Pierson said.

He also noted that having a new, thoroughly modern hospital at the core of UAMS’ mission ensures that UAMS will continue to thrive. UAMS has become an important part of Arkansas’ economy, with its economic impact now reaching $5 billion a year.

“Renovation just wasn’t practical.”

Purpose Driven UAMS’ hospital serves Arkansans

with the most critical illnesses — those who need treatments, subspecialty doctors and multidisciplinary care not found anywhere else in the state. But the

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An Education Hospital The new hospital also

is vitally important to another key UAMS mission: teaching.

With five colleges and a graduate school, UAMS is Arkansas’ only academic health center, and its leaders are focused on increasing the number of high-quality caregivers needed for aging baby boomers.

At the old hospital, the small patient rooms were limiting UAMS’ ability to prepare future doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other health professionals.

“The new hospital significantly enhances our role as Arkansas’ only medical school by facilitating teaching,” said UAMS College of Medicine Dean Debra H. Fiser. “For example, patient rooms have been designed to accommodate teaching and training teams while maintaining patient comfort and privacy.”

The new hospital fits naturally with UAMS’ mission to create comfort, hope and healing for its patients and families.

The interior colors are soothing and warm, and the glass exterior infuses the building with moodlifting natural light. The patient rooms are spacious and include a sleeper sofa for guests, and large windows offer panoramic views of Little Rock. » House•Call

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The bathrooms and showers were built to give wheelchairs unencumbered access, allowing patients to more easily attend to their personal needs. Outside each room are nurse stations with small windows for nurses to see in.

Staying Connected While patients and their

families appreciate their larger rooms, the nurses assigned to care for them are ecstatic, Forrest said.

“They’re excited because the new hospital is aesthetically pleasing and comfortable, but they’re even more excited because they now have the facilities and technology to do their jobs in a way that’s very supportive of patients and families,” she said.

For example, a communications device now worn by nurses keeps them immediately available to patients and families. Having larger, all-private rooms gives nurses more ground to cover and makes them less visible, which could be frustrating for family members trying to find a nurse. The communication device, called Vocera, eliminates that problem.

The new hospital also includes an alarms management system that works in conjunction with the monitoring systems to signal such things as when a patient’s cardiac rhythm or blood pressure changes.

The system works in concert with the Vocera devices to create an advanced communications system that ensures a prompt response to alarm situations, Forrest said.

From the first stages of planning, which began almost seven years ago, UAMS’ overriding approach was to create a building that put patients’ concerns above all others, said Melissa Fontaine, chief operating officer.

The new hospital should serve UAMS and the state for decades to come because the design team created space that can adapt as times change, Fontaine said. For example, every patient room is large enough to convert to an intensive care room if necessary.

check it out!

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Craig Wood of Little Rock chaired the Hospital Expansion Initiative Task Force Committee.

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Off-Stage Mary Ann Coleman, associate hospital director, notes that what patients and their families don’t see in the new hospital also contributes to a better patient experience.

The new hospital provides employees additional space for downtime, for example, and patient and staff elevators that are apart from public elevators. There also are rules about environmental maintenance, including what employees can and can’t put on the walls.

“These practices are designed to help us convey the professionalism, courtesy and efficiency that patients expect,” Coleman said. “You don’t want guests seeing you talking on your cell phone to your mother or wolfing down your lunch.”

 The UAMS Hospital: A Brief History

June 18, 1956 UAMS moved to its West Markham campus from its location on Little Rock’s McAlmont Street.

Feb. 19, 2006 Contractors imploded the 45-year-old student dormitory at UAMS to make room for the hospital.

Oct. 11, 2006 Though construction started earlier in 2006, a groundbreaking ceremony was held this day before an estimated crowd of 275.

Jan 16, 2009 A dedication ceremony was held and the hospital readied to welcome patients.

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Latest Greatest

From the lab to the operating room, new technology abounds

By Cozetta Jones

Registered Nurse Cynthia Boyd is wearing a Vocera communications device.

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mproving patient safety and preventing medical errors are some of the most important advantages of adopting new technology in health care. Since opening its doors in 1879, UAMS has remained at the forefront of medical engineering and health technology, enabling world-class health care for all patients, including those with the most complex and challenging medical conditions. uamshealth.com

Operating Suites One of the most impressive

advances in the new hospital is the addition of nine innovative operating suites. The suites also are equipped with an integrated imaging system that allows surgeons the ability to communicate with staff not present in the operating room, such as pathologists. “The imaging system has the ability to route images from the lab to monitors in the operating room, Âť House•Call

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allowing the surgeon and pathologist to see and discuss the tissue sample or tumor in real time,” said Anna Williams, director of surgical services.

“Without this system, pathologists have to call the OR and explain what they see in the microscope, without the surgeon being able actually to see the sample,” Williams said.

Another advantage of the imaging system is gained at the operating room control desk. The ability to bring images from each operating room allows monitoring of surgeries in progress, enhancing efficiency in patient flow through surgical services.

“A lot has to happen in a timely manner, and the ability to minimize distractions and interruptions allows the surgical team’s focus to remain on the patient,” Williams said.

UAMS also offers patients an alternative to conventional open surgical procedures with the da Vinci Robotic Surgery System. Select physicians at UAMS are now using the da Vinci Surgical System for a growing number of minimally invasive procedures and treatments, including prostatectomy, hysterectomy, gynecological cancer and colon cancer.

By integrating robotic technology with the surgeon’s skill, the da Vinci System enables surgeons

to perform precise minimally invasive surgeries with unparalleled accuracy. Surgery with da Vinci Robotic Surgery promotes faster healing, rapid recovery, less pain and shorter hospital stays.

Interventional Radiology UAMS’ interventional

radiologists have led the way in creating, evaluating and refining interventional procedures. This medical field combines specialized instruments and devices with systems that form images of the body to enable doctors to perform image-guided procedures.

“We are doing minimally invasive procedures to treat all forms of vascular and organ disease,” said Ed Strauss, Interventional Radiology manager. “By this avenue of treatment, it saves the patients a major surgery and extended hospital time.”

Interventional Radiology includes the latest radiology imaging technology, including the new Philips Biplane. This two X-ray tube technology enables doctors to achieve excellent clinical and economic outcomes consistently.

“The 3-D capability of the Biplane allows doctors and technologists to manipulate the images, giving them the ability to choose the best view for treatment,” Strauss said. The Biplane also enhances patient and staff safety by eliminating the need to reposition the patient multiple times, thus reducing X-ray time.

The Biplane is located in one of five angiography suites that house radiology imaging technology.

Interventional Radiology Service also will include two single-plane radiology imaging machines, an additional Biplane, a CT scan suite, a multipurpose X-ray system and a minor procedure room.

Interventional Radiology shares more than 8,100 square feet of space with surgery and cardiovascular divisions and occupies the entire second floor of the new hospital. The space also includes 22 pre-op and 22 post-op rooms. “In interventional medicine, we have the ability to diagnosis and treat the patient instead of referring the patient back to another clinical service,” said Strauss. “That’s what interventional means — to treat.”

“We are going to be a safer organization for our patients.

Everything we do is driven by that goal.”

Dr. I. Dodd Wilson (center) and Dr. Graham Greene (right) discuss the da Vinci Robotic Surgery System with Dr. Rabii Madi.

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Cardiovascular Medicine The Cardiovascular

Center includes a new Cardiac-Cath Lab that deals with various types of cardiac issues, including diagnosis and treatment of coronary artery disease. The lab also conducts radiofrequency ablations of areas of the heart causing irregular heartbeats as well as pacemaker placement and treatment of pulmonary functions.

The cardiovascular center also has a new electrophysiology (EP) suite in which procedures such as risk factor analysis and device implants occur.

“We are especially pleased about the new hospital; cardiovascular is one of many departments that will benefit from our new environment,” said Dr. David Rutlen, director of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine.

The center includes a hybrid lab, which combines the procedures of the Cath Lab and the EP lab. By having a hybrid lab, doctors have the ability to perform cardiovascular interventions and certain surgical procedures simultaneously.

“Dual labs will prove beneficial to our patients and to recruitment of new physicians,” said Rutlen.

“Hybrid labs are being implemented at few places in the country. Some coronary vessels can be treated best with angioplasty and some better with bypass, but a hybrid procedure room would allow optimization of treatment for each vessel.”

With new systems in place, cardiologists have the ability to access the heart vessels and arteries at the same time. “The ability to intervene and obtain onetime access is extremely beneficial to the patient,” said Celeste Bryson, clinical services manager. Shorter procedure time also translates to an increase in volume.

The cardiovascular division expects a 20 percent annual increase, Bryson said.

Communication  Technology A new system in the UAMS Medical Center is designed to improve communication and efficiency among doctors, nurses and other staff members.

The Vocera communications system is a wireless platform that provides hands-free voice communication throughout the UAMS campus. The system allows team members to talk to each other instantly within a facility or across campus.

The Medical Oncology unit was chosen to pilot the Vocera system. “Once we all got the commands down and trained our staff, we were ready to go,” said Heather Alverson, nurse clinician. “Everyone absolutely fell in love with the new gadgets. Medical Oncology is a fairly large unit and before Vocera, countless steps were wasted on a daily basis searching for fellow staff members and equipment.”

The communications system consists of two key components: software that controls and manages call activity and mobile, lightweight communications devices, such as wearable communications badges.

"As a unit we are better able to communicate with each other and patient needs are being met much more efficiently,” said Alverson.

notes directly in the computer, a process that decreases errors and increases legibility.

In spring 2009, UAMS will launch a barcode medication system to improve the accuracy of medication administration. A computer will check a patient’s I.D. based on a barcode on his or her arm band. Next, the computer will confirm the patient I.D. and medication or set up a flag indicating that the nurse cannot continue. This will protect the patient from receiving the incorrect medication or incorrect dose.

The Future of Technology at UAMS At UAMS, “We are going to be a safer organization for our patient safety has the highest priority. “For us to adopt patients. Everything we do is driven by that goal,” said a new technology, it must also have a patient safety Lang. “Efficiency is not the key driver; safety is the benefit,” said Dr. Nicholas Lang, chief medical officer of key driver. We can tolerate a reduction in efficiency if UAMS Medical Center. we gain an improvement in safety.”

With an electronic medical records system already in place, hospital leaders plan to take the next step UAMS installed its first X-ray equipment in 1922. in 2009, which is electronic documentation. With electronic documentation, doctors and nurses type

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Healing

By Design

Contemporary building showcases high-tech health care By Liz Caldwell

The hospital's lobby features soothing earth tones.

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spacious lobby featuring natural light and Arkansas limestone gives UAMS’ new hospital the feel of an upscale hotel as it invites visitors into a place of comfort, hope and healing.

The architects, led by Joe Stanley of Polk Stanley Rowland Curzon Porter Architects of Little Rock, worked hard for that.

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“The entry is full of natural light, so it’s a much happier, cheerier, brighter place that will carry through as you go up through the floors,” Stanley said. “Studies prove it improves and enhances the healing process, the healing environment.”

The 540,000-square-foot UAMS hospital reflects Arkansas at every turn, not just the limestone columns. All the interior design, colors and finishes uamshealth.com uamshealth.com

are intended to bring Arkansas to mind, Stanley said.

“We used the theme of the regions of Arkansas; there is a whole palate of colors and materials that suggest The Natural State,” he said. They include earth tones, the blues and greens of water and forests, Hot Springs crystals and natural wood.

But the major showpiece is the all private patient rooms – whether it’s in the Emergency Department, pre-operative and post-operative areas or as an inpatient.

“That’s the biggest, No. 1 thing,” said Bob Goza, UAMS director of clinical facilities planning, who oversaw the design of the 10-story building.

Patient privacy also is enhanced by having separate patient and public elevators.

Unlike before, patients can go straight to radiology and physical therapy from their rooms without traveling the hospital’s public corridors, Goza said.

Larger rooms allow for the latest medical equipment, and a sleeper sofa in each room enables loved ones to stay with the patient, he said.

Goza credited the design firm HKS of Dallas, as well as project architects Polk Stanley and The Wilcox Group of Little Rock for being responsive to input from 15 user groups that included doctors, nurses, housekeeping and nutrition services, among others.

The groups of six to eight people met regularly with an HKS designer and an architect. The groups represented nursing units, the intensive care unit, the neonatal intensive care unit, surgery, laboratory services and the Emergency Department. A clinical facilities planning group of more than 20 people kept campus leadership informed.

Staff input was important, for example, in the location of the Emergency Department. At first it was set back, but the medical team asked that it be moved to the street for better access.

Mock patient rooms were built, and yellow “sticky” notes were provided for staff to write suggestions on and attach to areas in the room.

“It really brought that design a long way,” Goza said. He noted one change requested by nurses

resulted in observation stations being moved from the foot of patient beds to the head so nurses could read the monitors more easily.

The building is graced with 26 works of fine art displayed in the public areas of the new hospital through the generosity of patrons, said Sue Williamson, senior director of Development and Alumni Affairs. Jackye and Curtis Finch, of Little Rock, are chairing the Art Committee, which has a long-range goal of securing high-quality fine art and sculpture for the facility. Curtis Finch is treasurer of the UAMS Foundation Fund Board.

Stanley said the timetable and complexity of the project made it the most challenging of his career, which has included being coordinating architect on the Clinton Presidential Library.

“Most people thought we could never do it in less than five years,” he said of the project, which included an attached parking deck, a campus energy plant and a new State Hospital that UAMS built in return for land the old State Hospital occupied. The job was made smoother with the help of CDI Contractors and Baldwin & Shell Construction Co., Stanley said.

“All members of the design team wanted to conceive and develop and deliver to UAMS the best health care facility we could using state-of-the-art knowledge and technology and the latest building and engineering systems,” Stanley said.

Other notable features of the hospital are a very clear entry, a convenient drive for pick up and drop off and a parking deck attached to the building.

“It’s a modernist building, very clean and contemporary. The lines are simple, there’s not a lot of fussiness to it,” Stanley said. It’s intentionally understated, he said, because the real focus is reserved for the high-tech health care taking place on the inside that is bringing life-saving treatments to patients.

“It’s a much happier, cheerier, brighter place that will carry through as you go up through the floors.”

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Total cost of the hospital is less per square foot than the national average of peer facilities.

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Comfort Zone

Amenities create an inviting health care environment By Kate Franks

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visit to UAMS in 2009 is like nothing before for both patients and visitors.

The hospital is new, there’s more parking, and every patient down to the tiniest of premature babies has his or her own room.

Those are the obvious changes. There are hundreds more smaller changes that make today’s UAMS experience better than ever.

Patient-centered Care More than 7,000 UAMS employees participated in

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training in 2008 to create a customer-centric service philosophy in patient care.

“We call this program the Circle of Excellence,” said Dick Pierson, vice chancellor for clinical programs and executive director of the UAMS Medical Center. “It’s all about creating a positive experience at UAMS for our patients and their families, and the hospital was designed with this philosophy in mind. We’re looking at opportunities to improve everything we do — from how we answer the phones to how we serve our patients’ meals and what colors we paint the walls.”

The new hospital brings with it a new parking deck, different dropoff locations, and unfamiliar routes in an already complex campus.

“The investment we made in signage, easy-to-understand maps and clearly marked paths along major routes between buildings is a good example of the work we’ve done for the convenience of our patients,” Pierson said. “Even though the new hospital seems removed from our other buildings from the outside, there are new connecting hallways that actually bring our outpatient clinics closer to our inpatient care.”

Changes in Store Design features and amenities throughout the new hospital create a warm and inviting yet functional environment for patients and families. From the soothing music of a grand piano in the lobby to the Family Resource Room filled with educational materials and books, patients and families will see a very different UAMS hospital.

On the fifth floor, parents of babies in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), will be able to spend the night in the baby’s private room and will have access to showers and kitchen and laundry facilities. uamshealth.com

 Special Thanks

“The parents of these babies often want to spend as much time as possible with their children, and that’s been very difficult with our old nursery setting,” said Kristi Palmer, assistant NICU medical director. “The new hospital lets the parents stay in comfortable surroundings, and there’s even an area for older siblings to hang out and play during visits."

Family Support The new hospital has space on each 30-bed unit to provide

patient and family resources unavailable in the 1950s-era hospital. For example, the new patient rooms are each large enough for a patient bed, a sleeper sofa, a private bath with shower, sink and toilet, an in-room sink and counter space, cabinets for personal items, and a desktop work area. Each patient room also will have wireless Internet access and a 26-inch flat-screen television.

Common areas on each unit include space for a nutrition work area where patients and family members can get hot coffee, cold beverages and meals suited to their medical needs, even at times outside normal food service hours.

“We worked with dozens of consultants on the design of the new hospital to ensure that it meets both the needs of our medical staff and those of our patients and their families,” said Pierson. “From the width of the halls and doorways to the amount of natural light and the selection of fabrics, every detail was addressed with patient care, efficiency and safety in mind.”

“It’s all about creating a positive experience at UAMS for our patients and their families.”

While there are more than 60 named areas in the new hospital, we gratefully recognize the leadership gifts that provided the following areas: The Frances M. and Ferd M. Bellingrath Jr. Intensive Care Unit Family Lounge The Jackye and Curtis Finch Jr. Imaging Center Waiting Room The Johnelle Hunt Pod - Neonatal Intensive Care Unit The Klabzuba Foundation Patient Wing, Seventh Floor The Jo and Harry Leggett Intensive Care Unit Family Lounge The Bruce L. McEntire Jr. Imaging Center Reading Room The Mozelle M. Nelson Multipurpose Education Room The Peck Family Partnership Central Waiting Room - Intensive Care Unit The Elizabeth J. Pruet Patient Assessment Center The Josephine Raye and Doyle W. Rogers Lobby The Dale and Lee Ronnel Patient Wing, Seventh Floor The Dale and Lee Ronnel Interventional Medicine Waiting Area The Schueck Family Foundation Patient Wing, Seventh Floor The Josephine Smith Multipurpose Education Room, given in her memory by her parents Kathryn C. and Harrow Smith The David E. Snowden Family Emergency Department Waiting Room in honor of Christian Overton Snowden The Tenenbaum Foundation Trauma Center The Tenenbaum Foundation Patient and Family Resource Center The UAMS Consortium NICU Family Comfort Areas

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Elevator capacity for patients and families more than doubles at the new hospital.

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The Patti and Richard Upton Multipurpose Education Room The Judy C. Waller Café Naming opportunities are still available.

Please contact Cristy Sowell at (501) 526-5049 or Sue Williamson at (501) 686-5675 for more information.

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A Mind of its Own Psychiatric Research Institute comes together to offer inpatient and outpatient services to Arkansans

By Nate Hinkel

Dr. G. Richard Smith is director of the UAMS Psychiatric Research Institute.

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itting right in stride with UAMS’ promise to create “Comfort, Hope and Healing for our Patients and Families” is an addition that guarantees to take that mantra to a new level.

The brand new $32 million, 110,000-square-foot Psychiatric Research Institute, long a vision of Dr. G. Richard Smith, director of the Institute and chairman of the Department of Psychiatry, opened in December and provides a full slate of much-needed psychiatric resources and services for Arkansans.

“From its design to completion, this building was created with the well-being of patients in mind and the efficiency and functionality for its staff in the

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forefront,” Smith said. “We’ve accomplished those goals and are extremely excited about the possibilities now available to our talented team.”

The new Psychiatric Research Institute, built simultaneously with the hospital on an adjacent corner of Hooper Drive, is one of only nine institutions in the nation combining psychiatric research and education with inpatient and outpatient care. It’s the first time psychiatric inpatient care has been offered at UAMS in more than 30 years.

Forty beds are available on two floors of the Institute; 10 beds dedicated to the care of children ages 2-12; 10 for geriatric patients; 10 acute-care uamshealth.com

beds for adults; and 10 serving a dual-care purpose for psychiatric patients who also have a medical condition.

An impressive amount of brainstorming and planning went into the design of the Psychiatric Research Institute, Smith said. An internal committee spent countless meetings discussing safety and aesthetic design, while an outside firm specializing in psychiatric safety design also heavily weighed in on the process.

“A lot of times older buildings are retrofitted for the latest devices in keeping patients safe,” said Dr. Laura Tyler, Institute administrator. “Obviously with a new construction project, we were afforded the luxury of incorporating those things into the initial design and it makes a huge difference. Patient safety is foundational in the delivery of quality care.”

Some of the things taken into consideration include special suicide-resistant doors, the use of double-paned and bullet-proof glass, and specially designed handles and knobs to eliminate potential hazards.

Aesthetically, a conscious effort was made to symbolically convey the goals and attitude of the Institute’s staff. A tall glass facade and open atrium brightens the building throughout and is symbolic of shedding light on mental illness and helping to shake its stigma, Smith said.

“The surroundings within and the feeling given to visitors can often be just as important as the care received,” he added.

A grand, wide staircase leading up through the atrium, which deliberately promotes collaboration between staff and visitors, leads to the second floor

It’s the first time psychiatric inpatient care will be offered at UAMS in more than 30 years.

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Walker Family Clinic, which consolidates many current outpatient services for adolescents, adults and the elderly. It will provide specialty programs overseen by Dr. Jeff Clothier, medical director, including treatment for addictive, eating, anxiety, depressive and posttraumatic stress disorders. The clinic expects more than 50,000 patient visits each year.

The Fred and Louise Dierks Research Laboratories include the Center for Addiction Research and a methadone clinic that promotes more convenient and safe access for patients and guests. Plenty of tailored room on this floor is provided for Dr. Warren K. Bickel, director of the Center for Addiction Research, and his staff to continue their innovative work studying the intricate brain functions of individuals addicted to various substances, including cocaine, tobacco and alcohol. Bickel recently received his fourth concurrent grant from the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Drug Abuse that provides the team $2.7 million over a five-year period to continue its work.

Easily visible through the building’s wall of glass near the atrium, plans are under way for a healing garden landscaped by the nationally renowned and award-winning garden designer P. Allen Smith. And just beyond the healing garden’s walls a modern outdoor playground will soon be offered for children.

“Without the help and generosity of donors and a wonderfully supportive staff and community, this building would not be possible,” Tyler added. “This is a gift for Arkansans that will impact countless lives.”

The Psychiatric Research Institute was designed by The Wilcox Group architectural firm and built

by CDI Contractors.

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Previously scattered among 13 locations in central Arkansas, the Psychiatric Research Institute consolidates all UAMS psychiatric clinicians, researchers and educators in one building.

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Planning for the Future What’s next at UAMS? By Jon Parham

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f the hospital — the beating heart of the UAMS body — is getting a major upgrade, one need only look around to see many of the body’s other systems also undergoing changes intended to make it better and stronger for the future.

Construction is well under way on a 300,000-square-foot expansion to the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, expected to open in 2010. The new Psychiatric Research Institute opened next to the new hospital in December 2008.

This followed projects at other institutes, including a five-floor expansion to the Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute that opened in 2006 and the 2003 opening of the 12-floor Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute.

These projects accent the interconnectedness of UAMS Medical Center and the UAMS institutes,

where faculty, staff, facilities and programs converge to focus on a particular cause.

When necessary, patients at the institutes may be admitted to the hospital for medical care or may go there for imaging or lab tests. Many tests also are conducted in clinics at the UAMS Outpatient Center.

“The care provided by specialists is complemented by our institutes being so integrated with the hospital and vice versa,” said Melissa Fontaine, UAMS hospital chief operating officer.

“This interconnectedness is embodied by the wide corridor on the hospital’s first floor that will provide UAMS patients with convenient access to and from our wonderful clinics and institutes.”

More Hospital Plans There could be more

construction on the new hospital as it was built with space for additional growth. The top floor of the facility was left as shelled or unfinished space for the future. “It was built so that the floor could be finished one day with minimal disruption to the hospital,” Fontaine said.

a decade (and counting) of growth 2003

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The Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, the College of Public Health, the BioVentures building and the Biomedical Research Center II buildings all opened

1999

The Outpatient Parking Deck was built to accommodate parking needs on the east side of the UAMS campus

2001

The Central Arkansas Radiation Therapy Institute (CARTI) building was completed on the UAMS campus

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Construction was completed on a building to house the new PET (Positron Emission Tomography) scanner and cyclotron

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The hospital’s new Emergency Department is actually on the first level where a future nine-level patient tower could be built. There is no timetable for this project, which is viewed as more of a longterm expansion, Fontaine said.

Another unfinished space of about 3,000 square feet is between the hospital and Psychiatric Research Institute. It could become a conference center with space for an auditorium.

Award-winning garden designer P. Allen Smith has plans for a rooftop garden on the top level of the new parking deck. A clinical programs employee campaign is now under way to raise money to fund the project.

Cancer Institute Expansion Rises The

“What we do in this facility will impact our ability to deliver care for many years to come, so we are working hard to get this right for our patients and families, our faculty and our staff,” said Dr. Peter Emanuel, Cancer Institute director.

On clinic floors, several services will be consolidated. In many cases, patients will stay in one place while doctors and staff come visit them — rather than the other way around. Much of the diagnostic testing will be performed there, too, rather than sending patients to other campus locations.

The UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute is set to open in 2010.

A Decade (and Counting) of Growth

300,000-square-foot Cancer Institute expansion will provide increased space for patient care, research and education programs that have outgrown the existing building. In fiscal year 2007, there were 120,000 patient visits, compared to 75,000 in 2000, compounding the need for additional space.

The expansion’s design incorporated input from staff, patients and caregivers to ensure a welcoming, efficient and comfortable environment. Access to natural light throughout the building was a focus of architects.

2006

The UAMS Student Dormitory was imploded

2008

2006

The Pat Walker Tower, a five-floor expansion of the Jones Eye Institute, was dedicated

The I. Dodd Wilson Education Building was dedicated

Scheduled completion of the expansion of the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute expansion now under construction

2008

2006

The Psychiatric Research Institute opened

The new UAMS Residence Hall opened

2007

The Centers for Children in Lowell, a collaborative project of UAMS and Arkansas Children’s Hospital, opened its doors

2007

Construction was completed on UAMS’ West Central Energy Plant

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2010

2009

UAMS celebrated the opening of its new hospital

WINTHROP P. ROCKEFELLER CANCER INSTITUTE

2009

The UAMS College of Health Related Professions moved into several renovated buildings once a part of the Arkansas State Hospital adjacent to the UAMS campus

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4301 W. Markham St. #890 Little Rock, AR 72205

G etting to Know You Teresa Wellman

Job title:

In 1948, Teresa Wellman took a job as a typist at UAMS, then located on McAlmont Street. Eight years later she participated in the move to the Markham Street campus, and in January 2009 she made UAMS history by being the only employee to have participated in both hospital moves.

Recently recognized for 60 years of service, Wellman has dedicated her entire career to UAMS.

Clinical Technician

Years as a UAMS employee: 60

Best part of your job: The people I work with are

like my extended family

What do you lIKE most in the new hospital:

Department: Radiology

Private rooms for our patients

Job duties: Filing and record keeping

Favorite place to visit: Las Vegas

Hometown: North Little Rock

Favorite time of day: My favorite time of day is 2 p.m. That’s when I’m off duty and can go to my favorite restaurant, Golden Corral.

Favorite on-the-job memory: Working with the late Dr. Isadore Meschan when he was chairman of my department Biggest change you’ve seen in your 60-year career:

Going from hand developing films to capturing images with digital equipment

Pets: My cat Sinba Hobbies: Sewing and crocheting