The new Stamford Hospital opens in September

STAMFORD — When the new Stamford Hospital opens in September, patients will find large and luxurious single rooms with expansive views, high-tech cardiac care and an emergency department that will be the first in the region to boast specialized pediatric treatment.

The myriad changes that will transform patient care on every one of the 11 floors of the new $450 million hospital were on view during a tour Wednesday.

Construction is about 85 percent complete, and 400 workers were busy laying tile, threading wires 

Then comes rigorous training of staff to care for patients in a hospital that will be vastly bigger and more sophisticated than the one it’s replacing.

No detail was too small for consideration in the quest to improve patient safety, care or comfort, said Kathleen Silard, Stamford Hospital’s executive vice president and chief operating officer.

From nursing stations that allow caregivers to keep a closer eye on vulnerable patients to no-slip showers in the bathrooms to state-of-the-art operating rooms with equipment suspended from the ceiling, every aspect of care was “reimagined.”

“A lot of attention was paid to making things very accessible to the staff, so we can increase the amount of time the staff is spending with the patients,” Silard said.

Doctors and nurses had a say in every stage of the process, even visiting mocked-up rooms in a warehouse to critique their design. “We also took a lot of staff with us to visit 15 hospitals across the country to see what new construction would look like,” she said. Please click here to continue reading.