Sinai Hospital's multimillion-dollar inpatient pediatric unit, which began in July, is expected to be finished in April 2012.
The expansion will give patients bigger rooms, more privacy and enhance patient safety that will hopefully reduce hospital readmissions, says
Dr. Joseph Wiley, chairman of the pediatrics department at the Herman & Walter Samuelson Children's Hospital at Sinai.
The new inpatient center is part of a $30 million pediatric expansion that included a $2.3 million outpatient center. It will also include a children's diagnostic center, to begin construction once the inpatient facility is completed next year.
The new inpatient center will contain 26 rooms, up from 16 rooms. Rooms will be about 50 percent larger, at 350 square feet, and contain pull out beds and tables where families can eat. Each room will be private, allowing caregivers to consult with patients' families in the privacy of their rooms, Dr. Wiley says.
"We're adding a lot of features will enhance the overall experience for families," Wiley says.
Each room will contain a pharmacy lockbox where medicine will be delivered personally, reducing the risk of medication errors.
Sinai is part of LifeBridge Health, which includes Northwest Hospital, Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center and Hospital and Courtland Gardens Nursing & Rehabilitation Center. The Baltimore Hospital employs 4700.
Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Dr. Joseph Wiley, Sinai