4 Ways Patients Designed the New Miller Inpatient Building at the UVM Medical Center

The UVM Medical Center is creating a better space for our patients, enhancing quality, privacy and healing and providing more room for families. We are doing so through the development of the Robert E. and Holly D. Miller Building, set to open in June 2019.

Read on to find out how patients and families guided the design of the new building, from providing feedback to helping with design decisions to sharing feedback.

1. Care team closer to patients

The layout of the Miller building is designed to make it easy for staff to stay close to their patients’ rooms as they provide care.Central to the layout are the three care stations, which have computers, telephones and monitors, and views of the patient information boards. This gives staff a place to collaborate and work.On each unit there are also 16 micro-computer stations, one for every two rooms, as well as a computer in each patient room. “Access to a computer close to the patient’s bedside is central to the overall design,” says Brianna Kim, Miller program manager. “It makes it easier for the care team to be responsive to patient needs in real time.”

2. New patient-centered technology

Patients want independence, so we piloted the Rēgo Patient Device to later implement in the Miller Building. Rēgo empowers patients to communicate their needs, access information, and control in-room elements like lighting.The device also offers access to MyChart Bedside, a tablet-based application that gives patients and families more information about their hospital stay. Patients can use the app to keep track of their daily schedule, learn more about members of the care team, monitor recent vitals and labs and review educational materials. Large 50-ince electronic whiteboards in each room also provide access to relevant patient information.

3. Patient and families were more influential in determining the “how versus the when”

Move Day is June 1, 2019. We chose that date based on staff input and census data. We analyzed longitudinal data and talked to patient and family advisors to get their feedback on what would be important to patients and families on Move Day. Staff, patients, and families helped us create workflows and a move day system that is inclusive of patient and family concerns.

4. Patient donations

Almost 80 percent of donors to the Miller Building are or were patients. Sixty-four of those gifts were made in honor of a specific caregiver! How amazing is that?

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The UVM Medical Center Miller Building opens in June 2019. For more information, please visit uvmhealth.org/medcenter/millerbuilding. To find out how you can support the project, please visit uvmhealth.org/medcenter/miller.