Press Release

Patient Addition Features Warm Colors and Look

Area residents attending an Open House at Burgess Health Center this coming weekend will see a hospital patient addition designed with color and furnishings to convey warm, home-like comfort.

In patient rooms, a soft golden tone on the walls meets cherry-wood-like vinyl flooring. Sleeper sofas in each room are covered in colorful prints. Rooms are equipped with new lamps, tables, flat screen TVs and DVDs.
“We picked golds and yellows for the walls because they’re happy, light, warm colors,” says Jeanne Pekarek, Burgess human resource director who helped with interior design decisions. “We wanted to make the hospital look less institutional and more home-like.”

Halls are carpeted to create warmth and reduce noise to further enhance patient comfort. Special lighting with “lumicor” panels adds a warm glow. There is crown molding in each room and a mix of contemporary and traditional artwork in both patient rooms and hallways. Privacy curtains feature a leaf pattern.

“Our goal was to present a look of hospitality with finishes you would see in highly rated hotel,” says Pekarek. “We also paid a lot of attention to what the patient sees when they lay in bed.”

Design also reflects the needs of busy nurses, adds Patty Sandmann, nursing director. “Instead of locating one linen closet in the hall,” she says, “we put in cabinets known as “nurse servers” in the wall of each patient room to give nurses faster access to linens and patient medical supplies.”

There are 31 private patient suites for medical/surgical care, intensive care, observation and childbirth. In the Family Beginnings area, new mothers and their families will enjoy whirlpool tubs, TVs and DVDs and pull-out sofas in the birthing suites and postpartum rooms.

A committee of six Burgess employees worked with a designer from HDR to coordinate colors, lighting, furniture, signage, artwork and more. The employees were Pekarek, Sandmann, Sharon Taylor, Ann Phillips, John Maule and Fran Tramp.

“We are very pleased we were able to stay within our budget and make affordable decisions on attractive interior design finishes,” says Tramp, Burgess president. Donors helped fund special touches, like the flat screen TVs and the new chapel, he adds.

Burgess will proudly showcase its new addition Sunday at a 12 noon open house for donors and a 2-4 p.m. event for the public. Patients are scheduled to move in March 15.

Persons with questions on open houses should call 423-2311.