Lots of light, modern colors, and ample elbow room for visitors.
When it came time for Gaylord Specialty Healthcare to renovate its Wallingford facility, the hospital’s management sought input from patients, families and staff about what they wanted. The response? For it to be as much like home as possible.
The rehabilitation facility is currently undergoing a $10 million renovation of 100 inpatient rooms on four floors in the Lyman and Hooker wings. Family and staff areas are also getting makeovers.
On Thursday, Gaylord hosted tours to show the media and other guests the contrast between the original rooms, built in the 1950s and 1970s, and the remodeled versions. The goal is to make them more aesthetically pleasing.
“The patients are at the center of everything we do,” said Sonja LaBarbera, Gaylord’s president and CEO. “We took their feedback and are trying to make the rooms as functional and comfortable as possible.”
Patients at Gaylord stay for an average of 28 days. To minimize the disruption for patients, renovations are being done on about a dozen empty rooms at a time. Once they are completed, patients will move into them, then the next cluster of rooms will undergo modifications, she said. The first batch of patient rooms will be done this fall. According to LaBarbera, the entire project is expected to be finished around the middle of 2021.
Robert Hall, director of facility support services, said the challenge has been to modernize and maximize existing space and make the rooms appear larger.
“It is challenging because we are working near occupied spaces,” Hall said.
The upgraded rooms feature light-colored wood floors instead of old-fashioned tiles, brighter lighting, and improved focus on window views and the outdoors. Smart TVs will be in all rooms, and patients will have access to services like Netflix. Each room will have modern furniture, including a recliner for visiting guests.
“Just being in a modernized space improves patient experience,” Hall said.
Robert Hall, director of facility support services at Gaylord, gives a tour to visitors Thursday evening.
The staff was also consulted for input on improvements, and their suggestions are being incorporated. Computers on wheels, and the addition of ceiling-mounted patient lifts in every room are among the upgrades.
Lisa Kalafus, vice president and chief nursing officer, said having lifts in every room will be helpful, as previously, there were only one or two available per floor, and staff would have to wait until one was available. She said medication handling will be done in one area.
The renovated rooms are now set up to have a designated family side and a clinical side, so caregivers aren’t reaching over or around guests when providing care, Kalafus said.
“We don’t want people to feel like they are in a hospital,” she added.
Cardiac telemetry monitoring units are being installed to monitor patients’ hearts. The renovations also include the designation of space for staff to discuss patients’ status and progress, and there is a staff room for employees to decompress.
The $10 million project is being funded through donor support and from an $890,000 grant from the Governor’s Nonprofit Grant program, a $120,000 grant from the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, and a $75,000 grant from the Cuno Foundation.
Contact Michelle Tuccitto Sullo at msullo@newhavenbiz.com
