After three years of construction, Saint Francis Hospital opened its new trauma center and patient tower.
A string quartet welcomed visitors to the 500,000 square foot addition. John-Kelly Warren is chairman of the Saint Francis board. He said Green Country needs a facility like it to keep attracting top doctors who will improve the region’s health.
"We have to compete for those doctors and for that talent," Warren said. "Just as a university would build great locker rooms to attract great players to play for them, we have to build a workplace that will compete as well."
The tower houses 150 private patient rooms, a pediatric emergency center and two intensive care units. The trauma center is designed to treat more than 140,000 patients a year. Emergency Department Medical Director Leigh Barrow said the private patient rooms are an often overlooked aid to recovery.
"Oftentimes, we're trying to see as many patients as we can as quickly as possible, and therefore we don't think about the comforts that the patients might need," Barrow said. "Having these larger rooms and the beautiful colors and just the attention to detail make a much homier feeling."
The new trauma center will accommodate up to 14 ambulances and two helicopters at once.
