HoCo General Readies New Wing

The HoCo Hospital is about to show off some snazzy new digs, according to this story in the HoCo Sun:

Its 90 private rooms, centralized outpatient center and enhanced support services should add up to a "dramatic reduction" in emergency room wait times by next year, president and CEO Victor Broccolino said.

Two departments are already operating in the space and others are moving in this week, but patient rooms won't be ready until early August. Then, the hospital will boast a net increase of 18 beds, while it incrementally converts the rest of its semi-private rooms to private ones.

The new rooms will be equipped with sleep sofas. (We sure could have used one of those after not one, but two members of the Talk Team spent the past year in extended stays. It can be darn hard to nap on a tiny armless chair).

We were curious about this passage:

"Patient safety and community expectations were the two main drivers," he said, stressing that private rooms are critical to preventing infections, disturbances and human error such as a patient's medication accidentally being given to a roommate.

How often does that happen?! Probably not much given the fact you can't get an aspirin without repeating your name and date of birth for the nurse to check.