By Maria Sonnenberg
For Al Dia Today
Palm Bay Hospital’s new patient rooms have a four-star-hotel quality not normally
associated with a hospital.
Earth tones and organic shapes are part of the design of the rooms, which are clustered
around small nurses’ substations to keep noise---and stress---levels down.
Leather sleepers allow visitors to stay with the patient overnight.
“The rooms are gorgeous,” said hospital vice president of operations Jennifer Mc-
Carthy.
Attention to detail even includes windows designed for the patients’ optimum view.
The 92 rooms bring the total number of rooms at the busy South Brevard hospital to
152 and transform the former community hospital into a major healthcare force in the county.
Gone too are the set meal times, for the new wing allows the hospital to offer room
service at the times that best suit individual patients.
The rooms are part of an $83 million, 127-square-foot expansion five years in the
making. Official opening date for the massive new hospital wing is June 22, but the community
will get a sneak peek with an open house on Saturday, June 20.
The hospital’s design team, led by president/CEO Judy Gizinski and McCarthy and
incorporating clinical, management and line staff, purposefully pursued a hospitality model to
provide the highest level of comfort for patients, visitors and workers.
With the second busiest emergency room in the county, Palm Bay was overdue for
an extreme makeover.
“We often would not have any rooms available and would have to hold patients in
ER until a room opened up,” said Gizinski.
“We were often over 100% occupancy.”
That is all about to change with the new facility.
Giving additional breathing room to the bustling emergency room is the new tenroom
observation area, where patients can be monitored before formally being admitted.
An airy dining area replaces a cramped cafeteria in the old hospital. Located near the porte cochere of the new wing, the café offers indoor and outdoor dining that features hot
entrees, soup and salad bars, oven-hearth pizza and even a grab-and-go station where staff
and visitors can pick up staples such as milk, avoiding a trip to the convenience store.
“We wanted to make life as easy as possible,” said Gizinski.
Next to the café is a large gift shop carrying everything from scrubs to fine gifts.
Not far from the shop visitors will find space for reflection in both the intimate chapel and the
adjoining Zen garden, created in honor of former hospital administrator Schuneman.
The hospital’s new 12-bed intensive care unit reflects cutting-edge technology and
utmost concern for patient comfort.
Palm Bay’s is the only Central Florida ICU to incorporate VitalWatch, which electronically
adds one more 24/7 layer of care through a secure, two-way audiovisual system that
allows interaction between the patient critical care physicians and nurses. The room design
allows loved ones to stay with patients as long as they wish.
The hospital’s construction reflects the community’s commitment to the healthcare
facility. The al fresco dining area was made possible by a gift from the 2007 Palm Bay Mayor’s
Ball. HKS Architects of Orlando donated the design of the chapel and contractors paid for
materials to build it. Landscape architect Jefre Manuel of Orlando stepped to provide the
design for the Zen garden. The medical staff president hosted a party to raise additional funds
for the expansion.
Given Palm Bay’s history of rapid growth, the hospital was created to go up along
with the city. The new wing is vertically expandable up to five floors.
Palm Bay Hospital is celebrating its new wing with a free community open house
from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, June 20.
The family event features tours, food samplings, classic cars, children’s activities,
live music and a health fair.
Call 434-4335 for more information.
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