New St. Joseph’s Hospital modernizes for the future

    St. Joseph’s Hospital’s new health-care campus in Highland is designed with the future in mind.
    A multi-year, master campus plan for expansion is in place and provides the opportunity for additional growth, Peggy Sebastian, president and CEO, says.
    “The master plan allows for the expansion of what we believe will be our most aggressive area of growth, the diagnostic and treatment centers,” Sebastian said recently. “The potential need for a second medical office building, as well as the need for additional patient beds is all part of the site expansion plan. The 60-plus acres allows for development of the health-care campus of the future that may include a cancer treatment center, dialysis center or other complementary services.”
    The future became more clear during 2013 when St. Joseph’s opened its new hospital and adjacent medical office building in 125,000 square feet of space that replaced the former campus opened in 1950. The new site is at 12866 Troxler Ave., about a mile north of the old facility.
    “We have invested nearly $63 million dollars to create a healing environment that provides a high-quality, Franciscan patient experience,” the hospital said. “The new state-of-the-art St. Joseph’s Hospital combines technology with an efficient floor plan design to maximize patient care and resource utilization.”
    There are a number of adjacencies shared among departments. The Emergency Department, Surgery Services, and Medical Imaging are all next to each other and enhance the promptness of care. The Inpatient Department is near the pharmacy, chapel and Wi-Fi cafe’.
    “The proximity of these neighboring departments allows for improved efficiency in clinical consultation and supports the needs of patient’s families and visitors. It also improves our colleague productivity, and most important of all, increases patient satisfaction,” Sebastian said.
    The new SJH focuses on patient privacy, and all patient rooms are now private, as are the registration areas and laboratory drawing stations directly off the main lobby.
    Most of the clinical equipment in patient care areas features the latest technology to aid in diagnosis and treatment. The Medical Imaging Department features a new MRI machine that’s faster, quieter and more precise, a new 64-slice CT scanner that can produce full-body scan results in seconds, and a new PET-CT scanner to enhance the hospital’s existing cancer care program in diagnosis and treatment.
    Among the hospital’s many features are patient safety lift technology; information technology integrated into medical records, patient education and hospitality systems;  a surgery tracking board; larger operating suites; a Wound Care Center with two new hyperbaric oxygen therapy chambers; and an on-site helipad.
    For information, visit www.stjosephshighland.org.