Improving ICUs for Patients and Families

A comprehensive renovation project that included three intensive care units (ICUs) was completed at Strong Memorial Hospital of the University of Rochester Medical Center.

The newly remodeled medical and surgical ICUs mirror a trend in health care that enhances a patient's experience, as well as the family's, by providing more spacious, private rooms that can accommodate large equipment needed for tests and treatments, such as dialysis. Decentralized nursing stations keep nurses close to the patients, just outside each room.

All rooms are patient- and family-centered. Each has a distinct adjacent area, complete with Internet hookup for personal computers, for family members, so they can spend as much time with patients as they wish.