SAN CLEMENTE : Intensive Care Unit Opens at Samaritan

In a continuing effort to improve care at Samaritan Medical Center-San Clemente, officials recently opened the doors to a new intensive care unit, designed to offer privacy and the maximum in comfort to the most severely ill patients.

Officials said added privacy is a key to the new seven-suite unit, the latest in more than $2 million in improvements made to the 20-year-old hospital since Phoenix-based Samaritan Health Services took over management three years ago.

“The problem with the old ICU was space and privacy,” hospital administrator Tony Struthers said.

The single-bed rooms, which were once separated by curtains, are now totally enclosed by soundproof walls, with “break-away” doors to allow patient beds to be easily moved in and out of the area.

The nursing station was also renovated to allow quicker response and increased monitoring of patients’ conditions. Extra beds for critical patients will also be available in a nearby area of the hospital that was used as the temporary intensive care unit during construction.

Hospital physician Peter Rothenberg said privacy is extremely important in an intensive care unit. “People who are critically ill, they don’t need to be distracted by the illnesses of other people,” he said.

The new unit, with its light color scheme and increased window space, is also proving to be popular with the medical staff. “It smells new--it’s like a new car,” said Sharon Powell, a nurse in the unit. “It’s so nice.”

Now that the ICU project is done, the hospital plans to upgrade its 24-hour emergency room, said Lynne Wilson, director of community services.

Improving the emergency room has been a top priority since a group of 67 local physicians, who call themselves Physician Associates Committed to Excellence, bought the 86-bed acute care facility in 1989 for $23 million. About one-third of the admissions to the hospital come through the emergency room, which has been expanded in recent years, Wilson said.

The hospital, which includes a staff of about 270 physicians in 36 specialties, serves the cities of San Clemente, Dana Point and San Juan Capistrano.