JMH officials show off new $176 million hospital

Long, sterile hallways, bright lights, squeaky tile floors – people looking for these signs of a typical medical facility in the new Johnston Memorial Hospital will be disappointed.

The hospital, set to open in July, instead features earthy tones, in tans and browns, with stonework and woodwork in nearly every area. Large windows look out over the mountains in every hospital room – all private rooms, too – and skylights bring in natural light.

“The colors we’ve used are hopefully very soothing,” said Sean McMurray, the hospital’s vice president and CEO. “It’s very patient-centered. Everything I’ve done with the goal of making it patient-centered.”

Steve Givens, the hospital’s chief operating officer, said the environment plays a big part in a patient’s healing process.

“A lot of research shows the impact of environment on healing,” he said. “It improves patient outlook and improves the process.”

But more than just colors and strategically placed fireplaces and patios will help patients heal at Johnston Memorial – the 350,000-square-foot hospital also will have new equipment to help nurses and doctors better do their jobs.

One new addition is the cardiac catheterization lab, which hospital officials say will help patients stay in their community while being treated for heart problems.

“I’ve had a heart attack and I had a stint put in,” Givens said. “It’s a little scary having to travel out of your community to have” that kind of care.

The closest hospital with a cath lab is Bristol Regional Medical Center, a good 20 minutes away.

The $176.5 million facility also boasts a 29-room emergency department, twice the size of the old hospital. Also included: a 128-slice CT, or computed tomography scanner, which takes photos of the body in slices, allowing radiologists to look at bone or organ details, and a 3 Telsa wide-bore MRI, an advanced and powerful high-definition magnetic resonance imaging scanner.

New to the facility is Vocera, a communication system that will essentially eliminate overhead paging, McMurray said. Vocera allows patients to communicate directly with their caregivers.

And, in between sets of patients rooms are small nursing stations, and the ones in the critical care unit have windows so caregivers can peek in at their patients while reading their charts.

They’ll have to peek in through the windows because there’ll be no more peeking in at patients from the halls, thanks to the orientation of the beds and bathrooms in each room. The beds are diagonally positioned, and the plugs and gas lines are hidden behind cabinets, McMurray said.

In addition, there will be a workspace and a futon in the rooms, so family members can stay over more easily.

“Family members will have plenty of room for sleeping,” Givens said.

The private rooms seem to be a great source of pride for hospital officials, who said the old facility’s rooms are 60 percent semi-private. 

“When you’re not feeling well, the last thing you want to do is share a room,” McMurray said.

And the hospital is geared to be the first in Southwest Virginia to be federally designated as a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design facility. Hospital officials are striving for silver certification.

To do so, they’ve incorporated several features, said Dwayne Darlington, a contractor with RJ Griffith, the firm overseeing the hospital’s construction.

“Eighty-five percent recyclable construction waste, high efficiency-products, mechanical system upgrades, and some of the lighting” will help the facility achieve certification, he said. “The products – many came within 500 miles.”

Much of the artwork is local, as well. Throughout the facility are prints depicting familiar scenes – the Barter Theatre, mountains and other local landmarks.

Darlington said he’s excited to see this phase of the hospital come together – to see the blueprints come to life. He said the building looks more like a ski lodge than a health-care facility.

“From you driving up, it doesn’t look like a hospital,” he said.

McMurray said he’s most looking forward to stepping up the care the hospital provides; he said about 95 percent of the services needed will be provided by the facility.

“I think the community will come to recognize that it’s been given a state-of-the-art hospital that’s as lovely and modern as you could want,” McMurray said.