ICU Design at Our Lady of the Lake Named Best in the U.S.

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Dec 01, 2014, 01:05 ET

BATON ROUGE, La., Dec. 1, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The intensive care units (ICUs) at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge have been honored with the 2015 ICU Design Citation Award recognizing their design as the most innovative and humanitarian in the United States. The prestigious award commends the patient- and family-focused elements of the 60-bed ICU that is part of the hospital's recently constructed Heart & Vascular Institute.

"In winning this award, Our Lady of the Lake has demonstrated its commitment to create a healing environment, promote safety and security, and utilize advanced design and technology for our most seriously ill patients," said Terrie P. Sterling, chief operating officer for Our Lady of the Lake. "The design allows our clinical team to operate at the highest level of care and provide the best treatment for the patients we serve every day."

The ICU Design Citation Award is given each year to an ICU that combines functional design with the humanitarian delivery of critical care through state-of-the-art aesthetic and creative design features. It is co-sponsored by the Society of Critical Care Medicine, the American Association of Critical Care Nurses and the American Institute of Architects Academy on Architecture for Health.

The design of the medical and surgical ICUs at Our Lady of the Lake focused heavily on incorporating natural light and family space to support healing. The rooms are equipped with the latest technology, including ICU booms suspended from the ceiling to improve safety and video-conferencing equipment for mobile virtual monitoring of patients. The design was built around the patient and features innovative elements like noise-reducing corridor layouts and the absence of lighting on the ceiling to prevent direct illumination in a patient's eyes. The décor promotes comfort and healing in a home-like atmosphere with earth tone colors, wall art and accent pieces.

"We set out to build an intensive care unit that is both technologically superior and exceptional in its capacity to make patients and family members comfortable, and in partnership with the architecture firm VOA & Associates, we are proud to be acknowledged on the national stage for this achievement," said Sterling.

The award will officially be presented to Our Lady of the Lake on January 19, 2015 during the annual conference of the Society of Critical Care Medicine in Phoenix, Arizona.

About Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center
Our Lady of the Lake is a not-for-profit 850-bed medical center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana with more than 7,300 employees committed to building a healthy community through excellence in patient care and education. With a Regional Medical Center, dedicated Children's Hospital, and 300-provider Physician Group, Our Lady of the Lake provides comprehensive healthcare services for common to complex conditions. Our Lady of the Lake is a primary teaching site for graduate medical education programs and is recognized in the areas of heart and vascular, trauma and emergency care, stroke, cancer care, minimally-invasive procedures and more.

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SOURCE Our Lady of the Lake