Diana Simmons has been bringing her grandchildren and great grandchildren to MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center for more than 20 years.
Tag: hospital
‘Children Over Profits’: Doctors, staff and families condemn MedStar’s shuttering of pediatric ER
UPDATE: UMMC Vows Review After Patient Discharged Outside Wearing Only Hospital Gown
Dr. Mohan Suntha, CEO and president of the University of Maryland Medical Center, said Thursday afternoon that the hospital is conducting an “in-depth analysis” for the case of a patient shown in viral footage being left outside in cold weather while wearing only a hospital gown.
Tina Frost, AACo. Native Shot in Vegas Massacre, is Out of Her Coma and Now in Baltimore
A nightmare situation for Arundel High School graduate Tina Frost has taken a turn for the better.
Family Praises City Police Officer for Being ‘Exactly What We Needed’ After Severe Car Accident
Baltimoreans hear a lot about city police officers when they do something wrong. But recently, one Baltimore resident, Dawson Nolley, wanted to get the word out about an instance where an officer was a hero to his family.
John Waters Briefly Hospitalized, Misses His Own Annual Christmas Party
Baltimore filmmaker and author John Waters spent time in the hospital briefly on Dec. 23 and missed his own annual Christmas party, but he’s already on the mend.
One Baltimore Hospital Gives Visitation Rights to Family Pets
Sure, the sick need good doctors and nurses to get better. Medicine helps. But do you know what else can have a healing effect? Warm, slobbery kisses from your favorite canine. While many hospitals bring in therapy dogs to help cheer patients up, a stranger-dog — no matter how polite and friendly — will never quite be the same as your own pup. Which is why one Baltimore hospital is among the dozen or so nationwide where family pets can visit patients (once they’ve met certain requirements, of course).
Have Patients: Johns Hopkins Moves an Entire Hospital Full of People
When Johns Hopkins unveiled its $1.1 billion addition a couple weeks ago, most of the focus was on the new buildings — their state-of-the-art equipment, colorful facades, and 1.6 million square feet of space. But opening a hospital is a very different undertaking than cutting the ribbon in front of a new mall. A hospital is full of patients — sometimes very sick ones — and they each have to be moved from the old structures to the new one. This turns out to be precisely the opposite of a simple task, and, as with everything in this new hospital, extreme care was taken to make sure the patient move happened in the best possible way. That meant, according to Robin Hunt, “running two hospitals simultaneously” for a couple days. Like we said: not a simple task.
Hunt organized, managed, and led the move of 271 patients over two days, a process that took three-plus years to plan. She consulted with representatives from each of the hospital’s departments, ran simulations, and figured out how to deal with critically ill patients. They built a precise schedule, laying out the timing for each aspect of the movement. Specially designated “emergency pull-off zones” were created along the routes, in case a patient being transported required immediate medical attention. The most critically ill patients were escorted by as many as five staff members, sometimes including a physician, nurse, respiratory therapist, and critical care transport staff. Right before the big day, Hunt and her team gathered a group of volunteers and students who acted as mock patients in a last-minute dress rehearsal. Each stand-in patient came complete with a patient profile and medical equipment, so the command center could get a sense of how the entire process would work. “The mock move definitely served its purpose,” Hunt says. The hospital decided to beef up communication between the command center and its transport team, providing radios so they could be in constant contact with anyone moving a patient. “We also learned that the building is massive,” Hunt said, and so transport teams got extra training so they’d always know for sure exactly where they were.
A Look Inside the New Johns Hopkins Hospital
The new Johns Hopkins Hospital buildings are going to be huge. Literally (1.6 million square feet, two towers connected by a pedestrian bridge, a main entrance that’s larger than a football field), but also figuratively. Johns Hopkins has long been known as a leader in medical innovation, and these new buildings allow them to put that innovation into practice.
And, while the official opening is a few months away, a nifty virtual tour lets you go on a sort of 3D walk though the brand-new space. There’s a garden bistro! An oddly-shaped purple couch! Colorful walls!
But all silliness aside, the adult patient rooms look comfortable and (relatively) sizable; every in-patient will get a private room, and come with a sleep-sofa for friends and family. And the whole place looks like a magnet for natural light, which is a good counter to the usual drab hospital atmosphere.
You can’t see everything in the virtual tour, of course. For one, Hopkins is promising the dramatic reveal of “exciting” sculptures and paintings by national and international artists at the hospital’s opening in April. Judging by the hospital art we’ve seen in the past, we’re not holding our breath. But the art selection is approached with anything like the innovation that’s going into every other part of this project, we just might end up pleasantly surprised.
