CBS3 Exclusive: Take A Look Inside The New Penn Pavilion Equipped With Advanced Technology To Enhance Medical Care, Patient Comfort
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The new Penn Pavilion is set to open next week and it's being called a beacon of hope in Philadelphia. CBS3 has the first exclusive look inside the cutting-edge facility.
The new $1.6 billion Penn Pavilion measures 1.5 million square feet and its 17 stories are loaded with the newest technology. It's high-tech aimed at efficiency and comfort.
"This way we can speed up the process a bit, patients don't have to wait nearly as long," a nurse said.
It has high-tech operating rooms. Kate Newcomb-DeSanto with Penn Medicine tells CBS3, "We can do imaging, guided surgeries, as well open surgeries, neurosurgeries and endovascular cases neurological here."
Newcomb-DeSanto is a surgical nurse who helped design the 47 operating rooms.
"We've created flexible rooms with flexible infrastructure, that we can bring the newest, latest and greatest technologies in a very short period of time," Newcomb-DeSanto.
The 61-room emergency department is set up to streamline patient care.
"They see a doctor as quickly as possible," a nurse tells CBS3.
For infection control, there are no curtains. They've been replaced by switchable glass.
"This is how we will provide privacy for our patients," nurse Kathy Gallagher said.
Gallagher has been working on the pavilion for six years.
"How many nurses get to say they sat at the design table when their hospital was being built?" Gallagher said. "I am so, so excited. So excited that we're finally gonna get to take care of patients in this beautiful facility. Just can't wait."
Four hundred patients will be moving across the street into the new hospital on Oct. 30.
Throughout the building, there are stunning views.
"We thought a lot about the patient experience and also about the caregiver's experience, as well," Gallagher said.
Inside each of the 504 patient rooms, there's an area for family who are encouraged to spend the night. Each room has a 75-inch monitor to watch TV and much more: the patient's daily schedule is posted, imaging can be reviewed with doctors, or with the touch of a button, you check the weather or raise the blind.
"So we designed spaces to be flexible for the future, to be comfortable, especially in the patient's room. We designed a space that patients would feel like they have control of their space," Gallagher said.