For Sherie Swerdlow, the family waiting areas and patient rooms within Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital (JMH) were once a home away from home. On two separate occasions, years apart, Swerdlow and her husband spent their days and nights keeping an anxious vigil there while their children, Amy and Nicholas, were hospitalized in Ryders critical care units. Both children recovered and their time in the hospital is just a memory now, but Swerdlows relationship with JMH has continued and grown. Today, she is a volunteer and passionate fundraiser for the institution, and the most recent manifestation of her commitment can be found in seven dramatically renovated corner rooms located in the West Wing and a few other locations in the hospital.
The “designer suites” combine the comforts of home with the special amenities of a hotel, within the clinical setting of the highly respected, University of Miami-affiliated medical center. The spacious, colorful new suites were designed by Ivette Arango Interiors and feature Internet access, flat screen televisions, DVD players, hide-a-bed couches to accommodate family members and kitchenettes with microwaves and mini-refrigerators. Furnishings are of dark wood rather than the typical metallics of hospital beds and the overall effect is one of serenity and comfort. Concierge services are available for special needs.
“We are transforming and camouflaging the hospital,” says Joan Bender, Vice-President for Development at JMH. “The new suites are very pretty and less medical-looking. Large headboards cover up the oxygen and compressed air outlets on the walls. Safety still comes first, though; the rooms are in compliance with safety and quality regulations. All the standard safety features, plus state-of-the-art medical equipment, are there, along with the conveniences.”
According to Bender, the new rooms are open to all patients, depending on availability. The project was spearheaded by the Jackson Memorial Foundation, with costs of the renovations generously provided by donors. Many of the benefactors participated directly in the project by offering ideas and preferences to the designer, and they were given the opportunity to name the suites for which they provided underwriting.
“The staff is thrilled with the rooms and the patients say that the comforting surroundings help them recover,” Bender states. “Families love them because they facilitate their presence with loved ones during the admission, with much more comfort and convenience.”
Designer Ivette Planas says that her objective was to give patients a warm ambience that would make them feel at home, and to create a healing environment that would have a positive impact on everyone within it. “I took a residential rather than institutional approach to designing the suites. Ive never done anything like this before, so it was a challenge. I did research about which fabrics and materials are suitable in a hospital setting and to understand the needs of the staff. I enjoyed it and the feedback has been so positive; everyone says that the rooms are beautiful.”
Designing patient rooms with a substantially higher level of comfort and aesthetics is a new trend in the healthcare industry. Consumer expectation, market competition and new evidence of the effects of environment on well-being are among the factors driving it. Pleasant, enhanced environments have a broad appeal and help hospitals achieve a more favorable payor mix, which ultimately benefits the entire organization. For JMH, a public hospital that provides state-of-the-art care to all who need it, this is a critical issue.
The renovation project resonated with Sherie Swerdlow because of her personal familiarity with the hospital and her gratitude for the care that her children received. “Im invested in Jackson because I know first hand how excellent the care is. I also understand the needs of the hospital. For Jackson to fulfill its mission of providing care to everyone who needs it, it has to be financially healthy. No one gets turned away here, regardless of ability to pay, but Jackson should be the first choice of those who have a choice. This is the facility for the most progressive, high quality emergency care, trauma, critical care, surgery and other services. Jackson serves the entire community.”
Swerdlow chaired the primary fundraiser for the designer suites project, the Golden Angels Gala, in January, and was the 2006 recipient of the hospitals Rainmaker Award.
The suite that the Swerdlow family underwrote is located in Ryder Trauma Canter, near the Burn Unit. “It was important to us to have a suite there, and its dedicated in memory of my in-laws, Sylvia and David Swerdlow.”
For Sherie Swerdlow, the family waiting areas and patient rooms within Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital (JMH) were once a home away from home. On two separate occasions, years apart, Swerdlow and her husband spent their days and nights keeping an anxious vigil there while their children, Amy and Nicholas, were hospitalized in Ryders critical care units. Both children recovered and their time in the hospital is just a memory now, but Swerdlows relationship with JMH has continued and grown. Today, she is a volunteer and passionate fundraiser for the institution, and the most recent manifestation of her commitment can be found in seven dramatically renovated corner rooms located in the West Wing and a few other locations in the hospital. 
