John Muir Medical Center A Leader in Heart Care
bates avenue and commercial circle, contra costa county, donna brackley, john muir cardiovascular institute, john muir medical center,
Thanks to John Muir Medical Center, Contra Costa County residents have long enjoyed easy access to high-quality healthcare. And in 2010, the hospital is going to become a bigger asset to the community with the opening of the new John Muir Cardiovascular Institute.
Located on East Street in Concord, the $170 million John Muir Cardiovascular Institute will be a six-story, 174,000-square-foot tower with 61 private patient rooms, an expanded emergency department and the cardiovascular institute, which will occupy three floors.
“The new facility will provide a much nicer environment for the superb care we already offer,” says Tom Harlan, president and chief administrative officer of John Muir Medical Center – Concord Campus. “The caring and compassion we’re so well known for will be realized in our new facility. It will be a much more pleasant patient experience.”
John Muir Medical Center broke ground on the new facility in 2008, and it is scheduled for completion in summer 2010. The bottom floor of the cardiovascular institute will be garden-level, with large windows that will allow natural light to shine into patient recovery areas and procedure rooms.
“One of the most unique features of the new building is how it will take advantage of natural light,” says Donna Brackley, senior vice president of patient care services at John Muir Medical Center – Concord Campus. “The large windows will provide a sense of night and day for our patients, which research shows aids in the recovery process.”
The first floor will house a much-needed expanded emergency department with 52 treatment centers and a medical imaging suite with a new CT scanner, digital x-ray and ultrasound for prompt diagnosis of critically ill patients.
“We have about 50,000 visits per year to our emergency department, and 70 percent of our admissions on this campus come through our emergency department,” Harlan says. “It’s a very busy emergency department, so this is much needed for our community. It will increase the speed in which patients are seen and discharged.”
The cardiovascular institute will feature four cardiac catheterization labs, 12 cardiovascular intensive care beds and 49 telemetry beds, which are more ambulatory than traditional intensive care unit beds and have highly sophisticated monitoring.
“We’re trying to make the cardiovascular institute a community project, and we’re launching a community fundraising campaign so people can donate to the project,” Harlan says. “People can give $5 or whatever they can afford.”
At a separate location, a new 56,000-square-foot core laboratory opened in spring 2008. The lab is located at the corner of Bates Avenue and Commercial Circle and will provide a faster, automated approach to process blood and lab tests.
Story by Jessica Mozo
Photo by Ian Curcio
