New Radiology Outpatient Care Unit improves patient safety, satisfaction
Patients at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center have a new place to recover from sedation and anesthesia following radiology procedures thanks to the new Radiology Outpatient Care Unit. Located near the interventional radiology labs on the Medical Center’s ground floor, the unit improves patient safety by allowing adult and pediatric patients to recover from sedation and anesthesia close to the procedure lab rather than being transported from the ground floor to the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit on the second floor.
“We needed increased capacity to meet the growing demand for interventional and neurointerventional radiology procedures,” said Patti Wengert, vice president of nursing, procedural care. “This unit took us from 10 beds to 16 beds and provides a place near the radiology procedure rooms where patients can recover from moderate sedation, deep sedation and general anesthesia.”
The unit was relocated from the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center’s 3rd Floor North corridor in April 2018. The new Radiology Outpatient Care Unit provides single-patient rooms and improved accommodations for families and visitors, which has resulted in improved patient experience and more efficient workflows for staff, Wengert said.
The Radiology Outpatient Care Unit also features original oil and acrylic paintings commissioned by Center Stage Arts in Health in Penn State College of Medicine’s Department of Humanities. The unit staff shared their ideas for the five brightly colored pieces that feature themes of paths leading to home and health. Center Stage staff worked with two local artists from Reeders, Pa., and New Cumberland, Pa. The paintings on canvas are inspired by Pennsylvania Dutch landscapes and local waterways. Both artists collaborated on a piece entitled, “Be Calm in Spirit.”
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