The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) will present the ICU Design Citation to the intensive care units at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, during the 2015 National Teaching Institute & Critical Care Exposition, San Diego, May 18-21.
The hospital's medical and surgical ICUs are receiving the award to recognize the patient- and family-focused elements incorporated into the design of the state-of-the-art 60-bed units that are part of its new nine-story Heart & Vascular Institute.
The design of the medical and surgical ICUs at Our Lady of the Lake focused heavily on incorporating natural light and family space to support healing. The rooms are equipped with the latest technology, including ICU booms suspended from the ceiling to improve safe patient handling procedures and video-conferencing equipment for mobile virtual monitoring of patients.
The design was built around the patient and features innovative elements like noise-reducing corridor layouts and the absence of lighting on the ceiling to prevent direct illumination in a patient's eyes.
The décor promotes comfort and healing in a home-like atmosphere with earth tone colors, wall art and accent pieces.
"We set out to build an intensive care unit that is both technologically superior and exceptional in its capacity to make patients and family members comfortable, and in partnership with the architecture firm VOA & Associates, we are proud to be acknowledged on the national stage for this achievement," said Terrie P. Sterling, chief operating officer for Our Lady of the Lake.
The coveted award — co-sponsored by AACN with the Society of Critical Care Medicine, Mount Prospect, Illinois, and the Committee on Architecture for Health of the American Institute of Architects, San Francisco — recognizes intensive care units that successfully combine functional design with humanitarian care delivery.
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