An estimated 800 people toured Memorial Medical Center’s patient care tower Saturday, Nov. 7, for a peek at one of the three new nursing units in the 115,000-square-foot facility.

The nonprofit hospital hosted a community open house, which featured guided tours of the 38-bed orthopedics unit. The tours provided visitors with information about the design of the new facility and how design elements would improve patient safety, privacy and health outcomes, said Marsha Prater, senior vice president and chief nursing officer of Memorial Health System. The patient care tower comprises a total of 114 new private rooms.

Visitors also checked out Memorial’s expanded lobby, which includes a new coffee shop, a business center and an expanded gift shop. The gift shop offered raffles, coupons and giveaways during the open house. Memorial Child Care employees hosted an area for children’s activities.

Additionally, visitors could learn more about volunteer and employment opportunities at Memorial at two staffed displays in the lobby.

Earlier that morning, community representatives attended a ribbon-cutting for the patient care tower, which featured brief remarks from Ed Curtis, president and chief executive officer of Memorial Health System, and Charles Callahan, the health system’s executive vice president and chief operating officer.

“This expansion project has never been about buildings. It is about people,” Curtis said. “The scope, scale and size of this project have been pretty significant, but it’s really about fulfilling our mission to improve the health of the people and communities we serve and achieving our vision to be a national leader for excellence in patient care.”

Memorial held employee tours the day before the community open house. Nearly 750 employees explored the new facility.

The new private patient rooms are nearly twice as large as many of Memorial’s current patient rooms. These larger patient rooms have safer bathrooms that feature motion-sensor lights, nonslip flooring and continuous grab bars. The rooms have comfortable accommodations for family members and visitors, including a couch that converts into a bed, to enable them to be more involved in the care of their loved ones.

“With our new private patient rooms, we’re able to provide our patients with a quieter, more restful environment,” Prater said. “Private rooms also help lower the risk of hospital-acquired infections. With fewer people in and out of the room, patients are more protected from germs.”

The first patients will move into the orthopedics unit on Nov. 16, with patients for the cardiology and intermediate care units moving on the following two days.

For more information about the patient care tower, go to AdvancingCareByDesign.com.