|
MUSC opens new Ashley River Tower |
|
|
|
Tuesday, 05 February 2008 |
Staff Report
CHARLESTON -- If not for the scalpels and the doctors, the stunning architecture and built-in comforts at MUSC’s new Ashley River Tower would make the place seem more like a hotel than a hospital.
About 60 current MUSC patients checked in to the new hospital Monday. The first surgeries will take place today as the 641,000-square-foot facility makes its official debut following years of study, design, planning and construction.
The 156-bed tower with its massive curved glass façade — meant to evoke the image of a sailboat — will house the hospital’s cardiovascular and digestive disease centers.
Hospital staff transferred the first patient at 7 a.m. Monday.
Based on a concept of “healing hospitality,” the architecture represents a growing trend in hospital design as the emphasis shifts from staid efficiency to patient comfort.
The idea is that patients will heal more quickly if their attitude is upbeat.
The seven-story patient hospitality tower and adjoining four-story diagnostic and treatment center includes nine operating rooms, catheterization labs, interventional radiology labs, state-of-the-art endoscopy suites, imaging suites, outpatient clinic space and a dedicated around-the-clock chest pain center for rapid diagnosis and treatment.
Among the finer details, patients and their families will have access to retail shopping, valet parking, high-speed Internet and rooms offering views of the waterfront that would evoke envy in most any developer.
The hospital also will sideline as an art museum.
Through a joint collaboration with the College of Charleston, the hospital will showcase the works of 54 S.C. artists in an exhibit dubbed the Contemporary Carolina Collection.
More than 870 original artworks will be displayed throughout the seven-story patient hospitality tower and adjoining four-story diagnostic and treatment center.
|
