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August 4, 2006 --In 2001, the U.Va. Heart & Vascular
Center began contemplating its expansion
with one overriding concept:
to provide patients the full gamut of
heart and vascular care in a single
location, within a healing, soothing
environment.
An open house in June celebrated
completion of Phase One
of the four-phase project, the first
expansion since 1989. “Quality
comes in many packages and is a
hallmark of the work of every staff
member in this center, not just the
leaders. It’s a 24/7 way of life, from
those who provide direct patient
care to those who keep this center
comfortable and operating efficiently.
This beautiful, state-of-the-art center
can be attributed fully to these
people,” said Chief of Cardiology and
co-director of the Heart & Vascular
Center Lawrence W. Gimple, M.D.
The center cares for more than
35,000 inpatients and outpatients
each year.
Planning for the expansion began
by gathering input from staff, physicians
and patient-feedback surveys.
Capacity, integration and comfort
be came the project’s watchwords.
Patients can find outpatient services
and diagnostics in adjacent spaces.
The Primary Care Center and west
end of the Hospital’s second floor have
been connected by a new walkway,
significantly easing patients’ travel
between clinic visits and accompanying
diagnostic exams. Cardiology,
vascular and cardiovascular surgery
specialties come together in 36 clinical
exam rooms. Clinic and lab space
has doubled, creating greater patient
access and privacy. The space also will
adapt easily to changing technology in
the cardiology and vascular fields.
Diagnostic and clinic areas are close
and connected for the convenience
of patients and staff. The two areas
that share the most contact with each
other – the Echo and Vascular Labs,
where diagnostic testing of heart
and vein problems occurs, and the
clinic, where outpatient care is managed–
are next door to each other. A
dedicated clinical research suite supports
additional clinical trials, such as
gene therapy, enabling research to be
quickly translated into practice.
Today, Heart & Vascular Center
patients have a new, dedicated elevator
off the hospital lobby, eliminating
extra steps for patients and their families.
The elevator will also lessen traffic
elsewhere in the hospital.
“I’ve never been so excited about
an elevator in my life. It’s a huge
patient comfort part of this project,” says
Heart Center Administrator Karen Forsman.
The colors throughout the center
are soothing terra-cotta, sage green
and eggplant, and each unit’s staff
selected its own paint colors, artwork
and fabrics within that palette. “We all
feel better with space that has warmth
to it,” says Forsman. “Leadership gave
us the endorsement to do that, as long
as we stayed in budget. When you see
the attention to the details, you can
see the payoff in the expended commitment
and energy.”
This expansion owes a debt of gratitude
to the Cancer Center’s Infusion
Center and the Breast Center, says
Forsman. “They showed us what was
possible, and we felt bolstered by their
example.”
Expansion is planned for completion
next year. When all four phases
are accomplished, the center’s clinic
and laboratory space will have tripled,
there will be 36 clinical exam rooms,
nine interventional cardiology labs,
20 pre- and post-procedure rooms,
11 ultrasound rooms, a dedicated
ECG room, a cardiovascular transition
unit, and additional nuclear cameras
and treadmills. The Heart & Vascular
Center expansion is a key component
of the current Hospital Expansion
Project that will provide clinical and
support space for the Heart Center,
Perioperative Services, the Department
of Radiology and the Department of
Clinical Laboratories, and should be
concluded next year.
“We wanted the space to be
an extension of the caliber of our
staff,” says Forsman. UVa Medical
Center is one of Solucient’s 100 Top
Cardiovascular Hospitals, recognized
for providing both the best technology
and the finest patient-oriented care. | 
