Geisinger on Friday introduced 14 new rooms to its new inpatient unit on the fifth floor.

This renovated unit is part of a bigger plan to renovate multiple units in order to better suit patient needs. The completion of this unit now puts Geisinger at 43 private rooms with a plan to expand to 61.

This new unit will house patients in oncology and palliative care.

Chief Nursing Officer Stacey Osborne said, “It’s really exciting to be part of a team that is really looking to advance care in this region for our patients.”

Sentinel photo by MINA PHILLIPS
Chief of Nursing Stacey Osborne addresses staff during the grand opening of the inpatient nursing unit on the fifth floor at Geisinger-Lewistown Hospital on Friday.

Geisinger aims to benefit patients with this renovation by providing privacy, extra room for family visits, and digital whiteboards that provide information for each patient.

Osborne said, “When you have family and you have equipment, IV pumps, and additional supplies in the room, it can become easily crowded. This renovation provides additional space so that you can have more family visit, you can walk around in the room, and it’s not cluttered.”

One of the most advanced parts of the private rooms is the digital whiteboards. These will provide the patient with information about their care, inform them who their physicians are, and come with a media package for entertainment.

“Whatever staff walks in the room, their picture will then show on the whiteboard. It also allows us to provide education via the whiteboard, and also will provide their plan of care. We are using technology to enhance their care experience,” Osborne added.

This is not only an upgrade for the patients, but will also be helpful for the nurses. Giving nurses adequate space to work with as much equipment as needed is crucial. It also makes some specific parts of a nurse’s job more simple.

Sentinel photo by MINA PHILLIPS
Pictured is a new digital whiteboard.

Osborne added, “They appreciate being able to provide for a patient flow, if they have an infectious disease, there is less chance of needing to worry about where we’re going to put them in that scheme of things because they are in a private room. So we don’t have to worry about if they were in a room with a roommate and if that roommate has something we didn’t know about. We are just trying to give every patient the best experience.”

This renovated unit took a little over three months to complete, however the work is not done, as Geisinger plans to renovate two more units to complete the goal of a total of 6 private patient rooms.

The ultimate goal of these renovations is to give each patient the best quality of care. Osborne shared, “The hope for this unit is that we can provide the best care possible and the best experience for the patients. Fourteen beds with the focus of oncology and palliative care, is that they have the nursing care and recovery that they need. Whether it’s that they stay with us or go home, that they have the ability to rest. A lot of patients don’t like to be in a room with a roommate, when they have their own room then they can have the best experience.”

Sentinel photo by MINA PHILLIPS
Renovated private patient rooms provide privacy, more space for visitors, and a digital whiteboard.