When patients enter Memorial Hospital Miramar, they will experience a medical world that is computerized, digitized, wireless and robotic except for the human touch.
They will see barcoded medications signaling proper doses matching the same barcode on their wristband. Nurses and doctors will input vital signs, symptoms and other essential medical notes via an on-line, bed charting system. X-rays, CT scans and MRIs will be captured and retrieved in a Picture Archival Communication System (PACS), where doctors can view them for diagnosis and treatment, even if they are miles away from the hospital. The emergency room, as well as the entire facility, will have a computerized patient tracking system, helping to expedite care and the flow of patients. In short, visitors and patients will experience the hospital of the future when Memorial Hospital Miramar opens its doors on March 17, 2005.
“Memorial Hospital Miramar will have the same medical technology and talent as that found in top-tier medical research facilities, yet it will provide a community, home-like feeling,” said Ken Hetlage, administrator for Memorial Hospital Miramar. “Memorial Healthcare Systems focus is on patient safety. This hospital will surely be the most wired of the Memorial Healthcare System when it opens.”
The newly developed, 128-bed hospital sports a fresh Mediterranean style, and its nestled between serene lakes and vegetation on a 124-acre lot. It will offer private rooms along with an array of medical and surgical services ranging from allergy to maternity, pediatrics and urology. It will house close to 100 physicians in its adjacent, 120,000-square-foot medical office building. And, it will cater to the growing ethnic demographics, providing selected community classes in Spanish.
