Robert E. and Holly D. Miller Building
The University of Vermont Health Network is committed to transforming the patient and employee experience. The Miller Building, which opened on June 1st, is playing a big role in achieving that goal by providing 128 single-bed rooms and facilitating the creation of many more private rooms throughout the hospital. Evidence-based studies show that private rooms with ample room for families can promote better healing, reduce medical errors, improve sleep quality and facilitate greater involvement of families and care teams.
Designed with input from former patients and families, the Miller Building brings caregivers closer to their patients, and supports the collaborative model of patient-and family-centered care that is at the heart of all we do.
When the time is right we will add family sleep accommodations to formerly double-bed rooms, and undertake a general refurbishment of each unit to include patch, paint and lighting upgrades.
Here's a look at the first days of providing patient care in this beautiful new facility:
Keeping the Care Team Close to the Patient's Bedside
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 - giving staff a place to collaborate and do their 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.”
Also on each floor is a team workroom, a multidisciplinary space for caregivers to work, collaborate and teach. Each team workroom has nine computers and a 50-inch computer monitor.
“The whole focus,” says Dawn LeBaron, vice president, Hospital Services, “is to make it easier for our staff to care for our patients as close to the bedside as possible.”
Bedside Information at Our Patient's Fingertips
Imagine you're a patient in the Miller Building. You've just had some blood work done, and you're wondering if the results are available yet. You don't want to bother your nurse. What to do?
Enter the Rego Patient Device, a bedside tablet currently being piloted on Baird 7 that enables patients to call their nurses and control their TVs and overhead lights.
The device also offers access to MyChart Bedside, a tablet-based application that gives patients and their 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.
Miller Building Facts
- Currently, only 30% of patient rooms at the UVM Medical Center have just one bed. With the addition of the Miller Building, the hospital will maintain the same number of staffed beds, but there will be 85-90% private rooms.
- Each room in the new building will be 340 square feet and organized into three zones. A full private bathroom with shower and 200 square feet of open space will occupy the patient zone. A recliner and pullout couch that allows family members to sleep will be in the family zone. The caregiver zone will allow care team members room to wash their hands and chart at the bedside.
- Team rooms will give patient care teams room to collaborate on the care plan and for learners to interact with faculty.
- Of the total cost of the project, $30 million is supported by community giving, including a generous gift from Bobby and Holly Miller, as well as donations from grateful patients and their families and faculty and staff of UVM Health Network.
- Every aspect of the project has been designed with the environment in mind—from the exterior glazing to the mechanical system (heating, air, cooling) to materials like denim-jeans insulation and recycled lightweight concrete. The Miller Building is designed to use half the energy of a comparable hospital. We have targeted a LEED Silver certification.
- 87% of workers on the Miller building project are Vermonters. 100% of the materials for the project came from within a 500-mile radius.
- The project is being paid for out of working capital, $89 million in borrowing, and $30 million in donations from employees, former patients, and community members.
- Over 1,000 households in the community made contributions.
- The building is named for Bobby and Holly Miller, two well-known area philanthropists who are longtime supporters of the hospital.
Faces of Philanthropy
The generosity of our community – including our employees - has played a significant role in bringing the Miller building to fruition.
I donated to the Miller Building because every day I get the opportunity to see how much the physicians at our hospital care about their patients. To me, the Miller Building represents the dedication and passion of our physicians who are constantly striving to make the patient experience better.
— Libby Sievers, Staff Assistant, Women's Health Care Service
To find out how you can support the Miller Building project or make a donation, visit the Miller Building.