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| A waterfall and rock garden help patients and visitors relax in Saint Peter’s new cardiac cath lab. In a private patient room, Diwata Somera, RN, prepares Hilde Shamy of Somerset to watch “I Love Lucy” as she recovers from her procedure. Movies and TV channels are limited to stress-free programming so that a patient’s stay is as positive, relaxing, and healing as it can be. | ||
"What Is Cardiac Catheterization"
Cardiac catheterization is the gold standard for assessing the health of the heart. During this diagnostic procedure, the cardiologist inserts a thin hollow flexible tube—the catheter—into an artery, usually in the groin. He or she advances the catheter to the arteries and chambers of the heart to measure blood pressure and oxygen levels and to identify blockages. Sometimes a colorless contrast dye is injected through the catheter, which enables the physician to see “live” images of the beating heart and blood flow through the arteries. This procedure, called a coronary angiogram, can assess the heart’s valves, chambers, and pericardium, the membrane that surrounds it. Peripheral vascular catheterization is a similar procedure performed in Saint Peter’s lab, but images are obtained of non-coronary blood vessels such as those that provide blood to the kidneys, arms, neck, and legs. Patients are given a sedative prior to the test, either in the form of tablets or as an intravenous injection to relieve anxiety and pain. Because they must be alert and follow directions, such as taking a deep breath, patients are not given general anesthesia. The procedure generally takes under one hour, but patients need between three and five hours to recover. They return home that day. |
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HEALING ENVIRONMENT HELPS PATIENTS RECOVER IN SAINT PETER’S CARDIAC CATH LAB
New lab brings the outdoors inside to ease patients’ anxiety
You feel a hush as you step through the doors of Saint Peter’s new cardiac cath lab. A waterfall shimmers and falls upon a Colorado River rock garden. The rocks are a theme that repeats throughout the lab in gardens embedded in the walls. The walls themselves are awash in green, the most restful color to the human eye. Plants abound and soft music permeates the air. Indeed, every detail of the new cath lab is designed to soothe and comfort. It is a high-tech medical facility—and a surprisingly calming place.
"Our goal in creating this beautiful environment is to relieve some of the stress associated with the catheterization procedure,” says Dinesh Singal, MD, cardiologist with the New Brunswick Cardiology Group and medical director of the new facility, the second cardiac catheterization laboratory at Saint Peter’s. “The surroundings also enhance healing, and help patients and families feel as comfortable as possible.” In fact, he says, the lab was created according to researched principles of evidence-based design, or what is better known as the “healing environment."
"'Healing environment' is a term used to describe the physical and cultural atmosphere created to support patients and their families throughout their hospital experience,” explained Renee Lanza, ASID, healthcare design specialist with Caldren Interiors, an interior design firm in Akron, Ohio. “We place our emphasis on how the facility feels, not just how it functions. The design elements in Saint Peter’s lab—such as the waterfall and rock gardens—bring nature into the environment. Research confirms that nature diversions reduce stress in measurable ways."
Family support also reduces stress and is an element of patient care carefully figured into the lab’s design.
"Most patients are accompanied by one or more family members," said Jeff Reichman, partner with CardioVision. The firm is a national cardiology facility development company that worked with Saint Peter’s to integrate the healing environment with state-of-the-art technology. "We put a great deal of thought into the families' needs, namely: to be close to their loved ones, to have access to care givers and their physician, and to have immediate, accurate information shared with them about results and treatment options.” Family members can stay with their loved one until the moment before they enter the procedure suite. The facility also includes a lounge where family members can relax and talk to one another while the patient rests.
The lab features seven private patient rooms arranged in a semicircle around the nurses' station. Sliding glass doors allow nurses to watch over their patients, and, as recovery progresses, cream-colored curtains can be drawn for privacy while patients are monitored at the nurses' station.
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| One of seven private patient rooms |
According to patients and families, the healing environment is working its wonders.
"It wasn’t a typical hospital setting, which was refreshing and calming for us," said Madelyn Jacobowitz, recalling her 86-year-old mother’s recent catheterization. “No one in the family had ever had this before. We were all nervous. But I saw a difference in my mother from the time she walked into the place. And she became a little less nervous as time went on.”
Edward Bergen of Carteret says having his wife, Madelyn, with him helped put him at ease.
"I was amazed how comfortable I was about it because I don't like going to see doctors or being in the hospital, "Edward says of his catheterization—his second in two years. "It helped to have my wife with me at all times in a room that didn’t look like a [hospital] ward. You have apprehension and anxiety when you have this procedure done."
Dr. Singal says treating outpatients, who tend to be less ill than hospitalized patients, in a separate facility benefits them in many ways. “What’s unique here at Saint Peter’s compared to what’s being done elsewhere is the great efficiency in a setting that strictly accommodates outpatients," he says. "All our patients' needs can be taken care of quickly and all under one roof. Also, adding the new facility allows the hospital’s first cath lab to focus exclusively on inpatients."
More than 200 patients have visited the cath lab since it opened in March. The centerpiece of the facility is a spacious procedure suite with an advanced digital scanner that takes crystal clear images using less radiation. A robotic arm administers iodine that makes the images possible. High-resolution monitors show "living" pictures of arteries and the beating heart. The procedure takes anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour, but patients need three to five hours to recover (please see sidebar). When they’re ready to walk, many take the opportunity to relax by the waterfall. A state-of-the-art reporting system streamlines test results. In this lab, patients and their families know their outcomes immediately, a process that usually takes one or two days.
"It's more of a home-like environment, and I felt like family," said Edward, "like how I feel when my kids are calling all the time to see how I am, and I know they care about me. I was really taken care of at Saint Peter's, so I felt comfortable. I think it was because of the atmosphere and the way I was treated."
"The beauty of this setting complements the service we provide," says lab manager Alex Pamintuan, RN, of the new 6,100 sq. ft. facility. "We believe this is the only way health care should be delivered. When people see how well we treat them as a patient, they will see this is how they should always be taken care of, and how Saint Peter’s can meet all their needs."
The cardiac catheterization lab is located in Saint Peter’s Center for Ambulatory Resources—the CARES Building—240 Easton Avenue, adjacent to the hospital. The lab can be reached at 732-565-5458.