OhioHealth Grant Medical Center Prepares to Open New Unit

OhioHealth Grant Medical Center will open a 34 bed expansion for patient care on August 21, 2018. This new nursing unit, called 4 East, sits on the fourth floor, right above the current Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

“This represents a substantial expansion in Grant’s future,” said Michael Lawson, president, Grant. “It allows us to increase our private bed capacity, enhance the patient experience and continue to improve the health of those we serve in the community. We are proud to offer this improved experience to our patients.”

The new unit increases capacity for critical and intermediate care. The 34 new, private, patient rooms are fully equipped for critical care patients, but will be creatively operated to flex between critical and intermediate care as needed.

Each private room has been designed to give the patient’s family and visitors adequate space, as well as natural light through windows. The goal of this new unit is to ensure that Grant’s current services and units are set up in a way that allows for patient safety, more private rooms, efficient workflows, patient satisfaction and future growth to meet the needs of our patients as the downtown community continues to grow.

In addition to 34 private rooms, the unit includes:

• A medication room to store and prepare medications
• A secure location for storing emergency equipment and supplies
• Decentralized nurses stations to allow nurses to remain closer to their patients
• Family waiting area with conference space, charging stations and a laptop work area

The expansion creates operational efficiency, increases private rooms and brings the total number of in-use patient beds at Grant from 415 to 449 (363 private and 86 semi-private). “Private rooms increase patient safety and satisfaction, two markers that are very important to us and our patients,” said Lawson. “This expansion project also aligns with our strategy to improve access to care.”

Grant admits about 20,000 patients per year and is frequently over 80 percent inpatient bed capacity. Grant is the busiest Level I trauma center in Ohio and one of the busiest trauma centers in the United States.

As part of the expansion, the exterior of the hospital surrounding the main entrance at the corner of Grant Avenue and State Street was revamped to include an all-new aluminum and glass façade anchored by brick columns on either side, covering the existing stucco exterior. There is also new LED logo signage on the outside of the area. The rounded aluminum and glass exterior now resembles the look of the OhioHealth Bone and Joint Center at Grant, the Surgical and Heart Center at OhioHealth Grant Medical Center and OhioHealth Grant Family Medicine, all located at the corners of Town Street and Sixth Street.

Construction on the nearly 25,000 square foot, $17.4 million unit began in June 2017, managed by Whiting-Turner. Corna Kokosing was the general contractor and Hammes Company was the project manager. Trinity Health Group served as the architect.

Grant Growth

4 East is part of significant growth at Grant in recent years. In addition to this project, Grant has spent another $33.5 million on expansions that allow for improved patient care and access. This includes:

• Trauma: The addition of a third trauma bay and renovation of the existing two, as well as a new dual helipad, meaning three medical helicopters can be on the roof at once.
• OhioHealth Bone and Joint at Grant: The expansion of the Bone and Joint Center, which consolidates services for orthopedic patients – from surgery to rehabilitation – under one roof.
• Heart Services: The opening of 10 new, private patient rooms in the cardiac intermediate unit, as well as a new, state-of-the-art hybrid operating room that functions as both an operating room and a catheterization lab.

Grant also invested an additional $2.8 million to turn the first floor of a hospital parking garage into a comprehensive primary care hub. The new location of OhioHealth Family Medicine Grant, which opened in October 2017, offers the full spectrum of primary care services downtown, in addition to walk-in services, and is home to Grant’s family medicine residency program.

The renovations and expansions at the hospital coincide with the improvements and growth (residential and business) throughout the Discovery District area of downtown Columbus.

About OhioHealth

OhioHealth is a nationally recognized, not-for-profit, charitable, healthcare outreach of the United Methodist Church. Based in Columbus, Ohio, OhioHealth is currently recognized as one of the top five large health systems in America by Truven Health Analytics, an honor it has received six times. It is also recognized by FORTUNE Magazine as one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” and has been for 12 years in a row, 2007-2018.

Serving its communities since 1891, it is a family of 29,000 associates, physicians and volunteers, and a network of 11 hospitals, 50+ ambulatory sites, hospice, home-health, medical equipment and other health services spanning a 40-county area.

OhioHealth hospitals include OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital, OhioHealth Grant Medical Center, OhioHealth Doctors Hospital, OhioHealth Grady Memorial Hospital, OhioHealth Dublin Methodist Hospital, OhioHealth Hardin Memorial Hospital, OhioHealth Marion General Hospital, OhioHealth O’Bleness Hospital, OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital, OhioHealth Shelby Hospital and OhioHealth Rehabilitation Hospital. For more information, please visit our website at www.ohiohealth.com.