BILLINGS- After nearly two years of working around renovations, staff in the St. Vincent Healthcare intensive care unit went to work today in a completely remodeled and construction free facility.
The $17 million upgrade began in October 2016 and added 3,000 square feet to the unit.
Four new rooms were added, and the 18 existing rooms all doubled in size to at least 300 square feet.
ICU manager Susan Amundsen said that this increase in space will increase the efficiency of the staff, make more room for technology and allow families to be with their loved ones going through a crisis.
“It provides us a healing environment for the patients and families. And allowing us to have that dedicated family space really means so much to the healing of a patient in a critical situation,” said Amundsen.
To make sure their remodel yielded the most functional results, St. Vincent representatives toured Denver-area hospitals and talked with staff about what they liked about their facilities and what they would improve if given the chance.
Every room has a window allowing natural light. Amundsen says that natural light allows patients to maintain a concrete sense of the day-night cycle, which can be important in the healing process.
Staff hit the ground running in the renovated space, as 18 of 22 beds were filled and two more were scheduled to be in use by the end of the day.
