Stanford Health Care Welcomes First Patients to New Stanford Hospital
In the pre-dawn hours of Sunday, November 17, the parking garage at 1189 Welch Road began filling with cars as staff members made their way to their new workplace, readying themselves to welcome the first patients to the new Stanford Hospital. More than 1,600 staff members and faculty helped support the safe transition of approximately 200 patients into the new Stanford Hospital.
“We’ve been looking forward to opening the doors to our new hospital, and I’m proud to share this stunning new facility with our patients,” said David Entwistle, Stanford Health Care president and CEO. “I am also grateful to our incredible employees who went above and beyond to make this a seamless transition for our patients.”
Lining the halls of the ribbon-clad pedestrian skybridge were SHC staff members, nurses, physicians, media and members of SHC’s Board of Directors, each there to witness the milestone event. Across the skybridge at the entrance of 500 Pasteur, a second set of onlookers welcomed patients with smiles, applause and a few tears. Patients themselves felt the magnitude of the occasion, some waving to onlookers, others videoing their journey using their smart phones.
The first patient to move into the new hospital was Paul Lee, 51, a transplant patient from Texas, who was escorted by Entwistle, Chief Nursing Officer Dale Beatty, DNP, RN, and a team that included his nurse and two transporters. In the new building, Lee said he liked the large size of his private room, the comfortable furniture for his family when they visit, and the view outside his window. “This is one of the best hospitals that I’ve ever been in,” Lee said, “and I’ve been in lots of them.”
For patients like Wayne Thatcher, the opportunity to be one of the first patients to experience the new Stanford Hospital was an honor.
“The old hospital was pretty wonderful, but having one’s own room with a view of the mountains outside, that’s very special,” said Thatcher, who had been hospitalized for six days before being moved into his private room in the new hospital. “I feel privileged.”
From start to finish, the move lasted three and a half hours, with the first patient being transported at 9 a.m., and the last patient arriving at the new building at 12:30 p.m.
“In a period of roughly three and a half hours, a team of more than sixteen hundred Stanford Health Care employees moved hundreds of adult patients from the existing hospital to the new Stanford Hospital. On average, one patient was moved into the new hospital every three to four minutes,” said Helen Wilmot, vice president of facilities services and planning. “This is an incredible logistical feat that required months of planning.”
A day of celebration
The day’s events kicked off hours before the first patient was settled into his new room. At 6 a.m., leaders from across Stanford Health Care gathered in the Assembly Hall at the new executive center to run through final logistics. Thirty minutes later, the signage of the new Stanford Hospital Emergency Department was unveiled to the cheers and applause of the ED team and SHC leaders. The new Emergency Department at 1199 Welch Road officially opened to adult and trauma patients at 7 a.m. Across the promenade at 300 Pasteur, a second team of ED staff members and physicians assembled outside the existing hospital’s emergency room. Wielding giant scissors, Andra Blomkalns, MD, chair of the department of emergency medicine, officially cut the ribbon, signifying the opening of the dedicated pediatric emergency department.
Similar ribbon-cutting ceremonies took place throughout the new hospital, with teams gathered at the entrances to patient units and departments to commemorate opening day. Each event was met with cheers, applause, thanks and hugs.
Entwistle and Chief Nursing Officer Dale Beatty, DNP, RN, spent the afternoon walking the halls of the new patient units, greeting staff and personally welcoming patients and families to the new hospital. Across the hospital, the mood was one of elation and pride in the new facility and relief at the smooth transition of patients.
For long-standing Stanford School of Medicine physicians like Norm Rizk, MD, and Ann Weinacker, MD, the opening of the new Stanford hospital was the culmination of a decade-long dream to have a state-of-the-art facility that matches the quality of patient care delivered inside.
“Today marks the exciting arrival of the kind of facilities we really need for Stanford to be what it should be, which is a mecca for health care,” said Rizk, Chief Medical Officer.
Once all of the patients moving to the new hospital were safely transported, patient care teams at the existing hospital began moving the remaining patients into private rooms. The existing hospital will remain in operation and will be renovated and converted to contain all private rooms, creating a cohesive, campus-like experience for all Stanford Health Care patients.