Ramsey St. Med-Surg Unit Upgrades Designed to Enhance Veteran experience
Veterans at the Fayetteville NC VA Medical Center 2C medical-surgical unit said goodbye to shared bathrooms and tight spaces thanks to May's reopening of the renovated unit.
The renovation, a part of a three-phase project, began in July 2016. The final phase is still under construction and should be completed by the end of this year.
“It’s been a journey. A long journey,” said Chief Nurse for Acute Care Rosetta Daniel. “What we had were semiprivate rooms, with four Veterans sharing a bathroom. They would have concerns because there was limited personal space,” said Daniel.
“It’s taken a lot of planning and a lot of time. I am very pleased with what the team, working with our construction partner, was able to accomplish. This is a beautiful space now," added Daniel.
The unit, in addition to private rooms and private bathrooms, includes wide windows, warm colors, and curved soffits to minizine the institutionalized look. “We wanted to make this space appealing,” said Daniel.
Veterans also have a variety of in-room entertainment options, complete with movies, cable television, video games, and Internet. The new entertainment system will also allow Veterans to access to educational materials and learn more about their medical care thanks to the Get Well patient engagement software.
For Annie Glass, a Vietnam Veteran, the new room is comfort and peace of mind. “I really like my new room. You take the little things for granted until you don’t have them. Having my own room and a nice bathroom. It means a lot. It makes being in the hospital a better experience,” said Glass.
Unit enhancements also enable the staff to provide better support to Veterans.
“The size of the room, the technology in the rooms, the design of the nurses station…everything about the second-floor changes is a better working environment and, more importantly, a better Veteran environment, said Constance Brown, 2C Registered Nurse.
According to Daniel, Veteran comments during the first few days on the new unit summed up the goal—"the Veterans love it. Nothing but good comments and that makes the journey getting here worth it. It’s great to see the finished product and have rooms that are modern and Veteran-centric.”