John C. Lincoln Deer Valley Hospital
Address: 19829 N. 27th Avenue
Phoenix, AZ 85027-4002
(623) 879-6100
Things have changed at the John C. Lincoln Deer Valley Hospital with new-and-improved facilities that have transformed the 17 year-old hospital. The new 4-story building sports a brand new Emergency Department and Critical Care Unit, and space for future patient care. The hospital’s location off of I-17 and near 101 makes the hospital convenient to other nearby communities. With the growth of the North Valley, an addition to the hospital was almost a necessity.
However, instead of putting high emphasis on the new facilities, the hospital focuses on quality of care and patient safety, along with patient satisfaction. "It's all about people and service," says CEO Tim Tracy. "It is the people that make the difference."
But without adequate facilities, any hospital will have a tough time attempting to deliver patient safety and satisfaction. The North Phoenix area has experienced phenomenal growth, and with all the homes come more patients funneling into the hospital. Without enough room in the Emergency facility, patients have to wait, perhaps longer than is prudent. Without critical care rooms that can hold all of the portable equipment that needs to be wheeled in a room, patients may suffer.
Walk into the new Emergency Department Lobby and you see a spacious, light and airy room. The waiting area is not meant to be a stopping point for the patient unless the ER is overcrowded. The goal is to register patients at bedside. Unlike the show, "ER," where emergency room patients are lying 3 feet from each other (which makes for good television dialogue), the JCL Emergency Department consists of individual rooms for each patient. No longer do you have to listen across a flimsy curtain to your neighbor’s physical problems and know that they will soon have an opportunity to hear yours. Even with the larger individual rooms, the new Emergency Department can handle 60,000 patients per year, double the size and capacity of the old Emergency Room.
Patient rooms are clustered around nursing stations. Each station has an overhead display monitor that lists each patient, the person or test they are waiting for, and the length of time they have been admitted to the Emergency Room. Hospital staff uses these statistics to work on reducing the "Treat-and-release" time, which measures the time between patient registration and patient release.
Critical Patients are kept in rooms with glass windows so that they can be monitored closely. All MRI and CT Scanning equipment is located near the Emergency Department so patients have quick access to them. With digital radiography, physicians have 3-D views of bones and internal structures for a quick and accurate diagnosis.
On the opposite side of the Emergency Department lies the most heart-wrenching sight. The Safe Haven baby drop is a device that allows a mother to drop an unwanted newborn at a secure and private area. An alarm will sound when a baby is left, to signal the nursing staff immediately. So far the Baby Drop has not been used, but the nurses have provided newborn clothes for the possibility.
Upstairs is the new Critical Care Unit. All of the rooms are private with adjacent nursing stations, another improvement requested by ICU nursing staff. The rooms are spacious, allowing for equipment to be wheeled in the room easily. Even the beds themselves can be wheeled out of the room.
The whole facility has ultra-violet lighting to kill surface and airborne micro-organisms, including mold, bacteria and viruses. The state of the art air handling system cleans air with UV lighting as it enters the building and as it leaves as well.
And John C. Lincoln isn't done creating a new environment yet. They also expanded Mendy's Place, a pediatric emergency room staffed by physicians, nurse practitioners and nurses who specialize in treating kids while making them feel comfortable. Visiting an emergency room can be a scary experience for a child and the facility tries to make a child as comfortable as possible while delivering quality care. The new Mendy's Place should be open by late spring. Renovation has also begun for the hospital lobby, a new gift shop, an outpatient surgery department and an outpatient intake and recovery area. The hospital has designed the Emergency Department for growth as well. The back wall can be removed to expand the Department to accommodate 80,000 patients a year.
No one ever wants to visit the Emergency Department whether it is brand new or years old. But if you have to go, caring and capable hospital staff and a well-run, safe and efficient facility can make the best of an unwelcome experience.
