Highlights of the December 11 Dedication Ceremonies of the New South Tower
Linda Creaturo, R.T.RM, 35-year Civista employee, Radiology Technologist and Mammographer:

“I won’t be here forever, there will be many others that will follow after me. But I’m glad I’m here now…this expansion will mean more patients for all of us – and that is a very good thing. Not from the standpoint of more people in need of medical care, but the more we are able to treat people here at Civista, the less people will have to travel out of their community, out of southern Maryland. And that’s very important to all of us.”
   
Seetaramayya Nagula, MD, Chief of Staff, Civista Medical Center:

“My fellow physicians and I are eager to serve you better than we have before with these new technologies, always keeping in mind that you want your physicians to be compassionate, empathetic, knowledgeable, and skilled while serving you…we will do our best to do these things for you. It is being made much easier with the patient-centered design of this facility. I and my colleagues are proud to be a part of and to support this expansion project.”
   
Christine M. Stefanides, FACHE, President and CEO, Civista Health, Inc.

“You have placed your expectations, your trust, your valuable donations into our hands and asked us to use them to provide the very best medical care that we have the knowledge and skill to deliver. It is a trust we accept and will act upon.”
   
More than 850 people attended the three dedication ceremonies which included tours of the new South Tower.
   
Edwin L. Kelly, Chair Board of Directors, Civista Health:

“Our focus as the Board has been to make the hospital grow in a steady, structured way while staying true to our mission of improving the health of our community. To be able to install the latest technology, recruit and retain talented staff, provide healthcare to those who need it regardless of their ability to pay, and embark on an expansion project of this magnitude, community support will continue to be essential.”
   
Donna Clark, Chair, Civista Health Foundation
Board of Directors:

“When the Foundation learned that we needed to raise $5,000,000 from this community toward the cost of the expansion…it appeared to be a daunting and overwhelming task. To our great joy and pride, the Civista employees, volunteers, administration, and medical staff responded immediately and generously. When we introduced our Capital Campaign to the community, we learned there were countless individuals and businesses who wanted this very good hospital to become a great hospital.”
   
Senator Jim Simpson, Co-Chair Civista Capital Campaign:

“Barbara and I speak from a different perspective. That of a family whose son is alive today because this hospital saved his life. We represent the story of what Civista really means to this community. The simple fact of compassionate people being right here, at the right time, with the right skills and knowledge to do the right thing. Who among us would not want to be a part of something that significant, that meaningful.”
   
Senator Simpson, Ed Kelly, Barbara Simpson, Dr. Nagula, Donna Clark and Chris Stefanides recognize a $250,000 donation from American Community Properties Trust, which placed the total donations raised by December 11 above the $4,000,000 mark.
   
Wayne Cooper, President, Charles County Commissioners:

“We at the Charles County Commissioners realized that a high-tech, state of the art hospital is essential for the health and welfare of our citizens. It was an easy decision for us to pledge $1,000,000 towards your health, your community, and your future. We were granted the naming rights for this new South Tower and chose the name Eagle Tower. It reflects the county’s new brand, ‘Where Eagles Fly’. This hospital is a treasure for all of us. I hope we will continue to support it and nourish it and value its capabilities for generations to come.”
   
Murray Levy, Maryland House of Delegates:

“Having learned all I have about Charles County, I can think of no better way to use our hard-earned money than to improve our hospital. The people here are miracle workers. Their work is impossibly difficult, the economics are confusing, and the way in which the medical profession has changed in the last ten years is baffling. These people do it all with grace and good humor. I’m so very proud of what you have done here, and I think all of Charles County is lucky to have you.”
   
Joining in the ceremonial ribbon cutting were (l to r): Wayne Cooper, President, Charles County Commissioners; Donna Clark, Chair, Civista Health Foundation, Board of Directors; Commissioner Edith Patterson; Commissioner Gary Hodge; Civista President and CEO, Chris Stefanides; Civista Board of Directors Chair, Edwin Kelly; Delegate Murray Levy; Commissioner Sam Graves; Commissioner Reuben Collins; La Plata Mayor Gene Ambrogio; and Dick Myers, southern Maryland representative to Sen. Barbara Mikulski.
 
Take A Look At What We’ve Built For You
The addition of the South Tower building, L-shaped in the foreground, more than doubled the size of Civista Medical Center. We broke ground in January, 2005 and opened the four-story building for patients December 17, 2006.
   
The main walk-in entrance where patients are triaged before going to either the acute or fast track treatment areas. There is also a separate ambulance entrance.
   
The new four-story South Tower houses the expanded Emergency Department on the ground floor, Surgical Services on the 1st floor, and 30 new private rooms on each of the 2nd and 3rd floors for a total of 60 patient rooms.
Ground Floor Emergency Department
Expanded to 25,380 square feet, the new Emergency Department is approximately two and a half times the size of the original department. There are separate waiting areas for acute and fast track patients.
   
While waiting, families and visitors may access Civista’s website or other sites through use of the Internet.
   
Vibrating, blinking pagers allow for rapid notification to those who are waiting and provide the opportunity to leave the area for a short distance within and outside of the building while waiting to be assisted.
 
The close proximity of the trauma rooms provides for immediate treatment of multiple patients, such as in the case of auto accidents. There are seven fast track treatment areas as well as dedicated treatment rooms for children and specialized care.
   
There are 29 private treatment areas. The treatment areas offer privacy for acute care to express care to extended diagnostics care. There are separate patient and staff elevators to provide more efficient access and promote patient confidentiality. Treatment rooms have doors, providing more privacy, rather than curtains previously used to separate “bays”.
   
The layout of the nurse’s station provides for direct observation of the four trauma rooms.
   
The main ED nursing station for acute care, separate from fast track care.
   
By locating the new x-ray room within the ED there is less wasted time and steps when caring for patients who may have broken bones.
First Floor Surgical Units
Direct nurse’s observation stations increase patient safety.
   
Post-surgical recovery (PACU) increased from four to eleven bays with state of the art monitors, and an isolation room.
   
Civista’s Endoscopy Suite provides a full range of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures for both outpatients and inpatients. Endoscopy has revolutionized medicine in the past 30 years, allowing many patients to avoid exploratory surgery and lengthy hospitalizations. Procedure rooms offer more privacy.
   
Minor procedure rooms off the sterile core area provide for a more effective utilization of the main operating rooms.
   
Ceiling columns and wall mounted equipment in operating rooms keep the floor clear for optimum movement and cleanliness, minimizing clutter and infection risk. The rooms have laminar flow, a special method of air circulation which keeps air away from the surgical site to help prevent infection.
   
Same Day Surgery Treatment Rooms: Doors fold completely back to accommodate moving large items such as beds when necessary.
Second and Third Floor: Patient Units
A wireless, integrated nurse call system dramatically decreases overhead paging. The main nursing stations provide work and meeting space.
   
Nurse’s stations are decentralized providing a station for every six private patient rooms. Floors are carpeted to decrease noise from rolling carts and other equipment.
   
Phones are in the handrail of patient beds, eliminating the need to have a bedside table. Connectivity for equipment is in one central area at the patient’s bedside. Beds have numerous safety features and alarms.
   
Each patient room has a private bath, a sofa that converts to a sleep sofa and ergonomically constructed chairs for easy access and the comfort of the visitor or patient. Hand washing sinks in each room decrease infection rates. Medications are more centrally located near nursing stations.
   
Through a pneumatic tube system pharmaceuticals, laboratory specimens, blood products, and medical supplies are delivered to nursing stations, the emergency departments, and work centers within seconds. Products are moved at the rate of 25 feet per second. The need for runners is eliminated and lab, x-ray, and pharmacy staff can remain in their departments. The pneumatic tube system travels to key areas on each floor and stations have also been installed in the original sections of the medical center also.
   
An automated pharmaceutical control and dispensing system functions like an ATM with PIN-controlled access. Previously, maintaining an accurate tally of all the drugs on hand, as well as billing and re-ordering accurately was challenging. Working against the system were the variety of caregivers involved, the pressures of day-to-day activities, and human error. We can ensure that patients receive the right prescription, at the right time, for the right patient, in the right amount. With over 7,500 admissions a year, and another 33,000 emergency visits, trying to keep track of all administered prescriptions was manual labor, arduous and time-consuming. This new system has changed all that.