.JPG)
Madonna in concert, New York
Michael Buble in photos
Hamilton vs. Badin volleyball
Atrium Medical Center Q&A
VIDEOS: Q&A with Marilyn Noll, the hospital's director of new facility planning and site development
RELATED: Articles, photos and more Atrium coverage
Marilyn Noll, the hospital's director of new facility planning and site development, discusses the move of Middletown Regional Hospital to Atrium Medical Center.
Question: How and when will I be moved, what will I do with my belongings during the move, and how will I get my car from MRH after the move?
Extras
Video answer: View video response
Text answer: All of our patients who are inpatients on Dec. 9 will move on Dec. 9. Our move plan calls for the patient move to begin at 8 a.m., and depending how large our census is, we're hoping to be done by 3 p.m. in the afternoon. We are encouraging our patients to send as many of their personal belongings as possible home with a family member prior to the patient move. Any patient belongings that are still on-site on patient move day will move either with the patient or be sent over to the Atrium Medical Center just before the patients move. We will have a shuttle service available throughout the day Sunday, Dec. 9, to shuttle family members that need to go back and forth, as well as employees that need to go back and forth.
Q: Who will take care of me at Atrium and how will you maintain my privacy during the move? Members of the media will be on hand to document the move on Dec. 9. How will my privacy be protected then?
Video answer: View video response
Text answer: The same caregivers that are on staff at Middletown Regional Hospital will be here on staff at Atrium Medical Center. Some of them will actually be traveling with the patients, while others will actually start their shifts at Atrium Medical Center and be here to greet the patients as they're transferred over. We're actually doing several things relative to patient privacy. The teams of staff members that will be accompanying patients and moving patients are those same staff members that will be caring for patients both at Middletown Regional, as well as Atrium Medical Center. The second thing we're doing is we're trying to minimize the time the patients will spend outside of the room during transport. We're going to keep patients in their rooms until their transport vehicle is ready for them. The third thing that we're doing is trying to minimize the number of visitors and public members that might be in the buildings during patient move day. We recognize very much that is an interesting thing for our public to know about, as well as maintaining our patient privacy, so we've come up with a way that we can communicate to the media which patients have agreed ahead of time to be interviewed or be photographed, and we're doing that by giving those patients a blue blanket to have with them during the patient move process. That way, if a media member wants to photograph a patient, and they see that patient has a blue blanket, they'll know that patient has agreed ahead of time to be photographed.
Q: How will I know where my loved one will be in the new hospital and how do I contact them once they're moved? Will their number change? When will I be able to visit them?
Video answer: View video response
Text answer: Prior to patient move day, we will have established a patient roster, and one of the components of that patient roster is actually completing the bed assignment. So patients' family members will know before patient move day into which bed their patient will be located at Atrium Medical Center. Once our patients have been relocated to Atrium, one of our staff members will be calling the key contact person for every patient, letting them know their loved one has arrived safely, what room number they're in, as well as what their phone number is. We'll also be encouraging them at that point to come for visiting hours in the late afternoon on Sunday.
Q: Where do I pick up my loved one when he/she is discharged from Atrium?
Video answer: View video response
Text answer: Our discharge entrance at Atrium Medical Center is on the east side of the hospital, adjacent to the emergency entrance. The best way to get to the discharge entrance is to enter on the property through the south entrance, take the branch of the road on the right that goes along the east side of the hospital, and look for the discharge entrance signs.
Q: Where can I eat during the move?
Video answer: View video response
Text answer: Food service for our patients has been designed so it will be available at both Middletown Regional Hospital and Atrium Medical Center. Most patients will have breakfast at Middletown Regional, some will have lunch there. Most of our patients will have dinner at Atrium Medical Center. We'll be doing our patient meals that Sunday as boxed meals, so that no matter where you are, we'll have a meal available for you.
Q: What happens if there's an emergency during the move?
Video answer: View video response
Text answer: Since our patients will be transported by our local EMS staff, they will be monitored throughout the transportation process. If a situation occurs en route, where EMS staff feels a patient has taken a turn for the worse, and needs additional care, the ambulance will immediately be re-routed to our emergency treatment center, which opens at 6 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 9, well ahead of the patient move time. We're projecting our average transport time to be approximately an hour, and that would include the time for our lift and escort teams to move a patient from their bed onto their transport, to get them down to our discharge exit at Middletown Regional, get them driven to Atrium Medical Center, and then the reverse. Our transport and escort teams will greet them in the main lobby here at Atrium, and escort them to their patient rooms and get them into their new beds.
Q: What about the costs? Will it cost more at Atrium than it does at MRH due to private rooms? Also, will my insurance cover me at Atrium?
Video answer: View video response
Text answer: The same insurance contracts that cover care at Middletown Regional Hospital will also cover care at Atrium Medical Center. Just because we've changed the name, and we're moving to a different building, (that) has no effect on the insurance coverage.
Q: When will elective surgeries and outpatient services be available at Atrium?
Video answer: View video response
Text answer: Elective surgeries, something like a hip replacement or knee replacement, will be available as of Tuesday, Dec. 11. On Monday, Dec. 10, Atrium Medical Center will be open for outpatient procedures. However, emergency surgical procedures will be available throughout the patient move process.
Q: When will MRH officially close?
Video answer: View video response
Text answer: Middletown Regional Hospital will be closed for emergency services when the last patient is discharged from the emergency department. We will close for inpatient care when the last inpatient has been transferred to Atrium Medical Center. Middletown Regional Hospital will remain open for some outpatient procedures for several months, including our maternal child health center, and our sports wellness program. Patients needing emergency care after 6 a.m. on Dec. 9 are to come to Atrium Medical Center.
Q: Where can I get more information about the Atrium Medical Center move?
Video answer: View video response
Text answer: More information can be found at our Web site, which is www.atriummedcenter.org
Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2112 or dgreber@coxohio.com.
