Santa Fe Hospital Will Remodel Patient Rooms

SANTA FE, N.M. — Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center is on its way to unveiling remodeled patient rooms.

The medical center announced earlier this month that it would begin construction and remodeling to convert all adult patient rooms to private rooms. The hospital is set to build an additional 36 hospital rooms that will be all-private rooms. It will also then convert the existing adult semi-private double rooms to single rooms.

Designed by Houston-based WHR Architects, a new wing will begin its construction in 2015, and the project is slated for completion in 2017. Then, the remodeling portion of the project will begin, and the conversion of the existing double rooms to private rooms will be completed in 2018. The new construction will be on the north and south sides of the hospital in the lower level. There are currently 268 beds, and that number will stay the same when the project is completed.

To prepare for the project, the hospital gathered feedback from the community, holding more than 40 town hall–style meetings. Single-patient rooms will stay roughly the same size as current double-patient rooms. Right now, a double room is 240 square feet, and the conversion will make a single-patient room 280 square feet. With only one bed in the room, the hospital will be able to better accommodate furniture and equipment, as well as make room for more visitors.

“This is just another step in our ongoing journey to enhance the patient experience,” Tassin said in a statement. “Through the course of our community outreach, our patients told us that they wanted private rooms, and now we will reach that goal by 2018.”

The medical center is following a national trend toward private-room design that aims to reduce infection, provide more privacy and create conditions for better sleep, according to Dr. John Beeson, chief medical officer at the hospital.

“Research clearly shows that private rooms cut down on infection and promote faster healing,” Beeson said in a statement. “We are on our way to providing 100 percent private rooms for our adult patients, and that will make a big difference to our patients.”

Christus Health, headquartered in Irving, Texas, along with the Santa Fe-based St. Vincent Hospital Foundation and SVHsupport, are paying for the $40 million expansion in a joint project. The foundation will start a fundraising drive to raise $10 million, SVHsupport will provide $3.75 million, Christus Health will provide $11.25 million in capital and an additional $15 million in a loan.

“Our community and our partners have determined to take the next important step in enhancing the patient experience — private rooms,” said Dave Delgado, the president of SVHsupport, which owns 50 percent of the hospital, in a statement. “We are proud to make a contribution to this important goal of bringing private rooms to the hospital.”

The American Institute of Architects recommends that private rooms become the industry standard for all new construction of acute care hospitals. This is especially important for patients who are 65 years or older.