Since 1751, Pennsylvania Hospital’s mission has been clear and consistent: promote the health and well-being of the community by developing and delivering the most innovative, cutting-edge treatments. The approaches have of course advanced over time — the preoperative process no longer involves a mallet to the head and/or a bottle of alcohol in place of anesthesia, for example — and the hospital’s facilities have been modernized to keep up with health care advances and changing patient needs. By virtue of being the nation’s first hospital, Pennsy is challenged to balance historic preservation with the need for patient-centered layouts and state-of-the-art technology, but it’s a challenge PAH has always risen to. The major project currently underway is an overhaul of the Spruce Building to support service growth while also maintaining its unique history.
“The Spruce Building was constructed in 1928, and we understand its significance as part of PAH’s past. At the time, it was considered one of the most modern hospital buildings in the country, and rather than just tearing it down and starting over to make the various upgrades, we’re giving it new life,” said Jeff O’Neill, AIA, ACHA, CHFM, senior director of Facilities. “For example, the inpatient pharmacy will be relocated to the ninth floor, and a Good Shepherd Penn Partners office will be moved to the seventh floor to provide patients with access to physical rehabilitation services. That will be especially valuable with the upcoming opening of our comprehensive Spine Center.”
The new Penn Spine Center at PAH, which will begin serving patients in early 2019, will be housed on the third floor and is organized as a one-stop shop to accommodate patient visits, surgical and nonsurgical treatments, pain management, and imaging all under one roof. The center will be the culmination of more than two years of extensive, collaborative planning across the neuro service line. The center combines an ambulatory approach with access to inpatient resources, ensuring that PAH will be able to deliver a new model of care to spine patients that keeps their experience at the center. With evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment in one comprehensive location, patients will receive their care more efficiently, conveniently, and in the proper settings — a definite plus given that approximately nine out of 10 people will at some point experience neck or back pain due to injury, overuse, or disease.
“Today, there exists no single entity in the region that provides excellent, efficient, and integrative care for patients with spine disorders in one location. Here at PAH, a multidisciplinary team is working to change that reality,” said CEO Theresa Larivee. “By bringing together specialists from neurosurgery, orthopedics, neurology, neurophysiology, pain management, and behavioral medicine, the Penn Spine Center at Pennsylvania Hospital represents a vision for the future of care for these patients that no other health system in the region can match.”
In addition to the opening of the Penn Spine Center, a new crisis response center (CRC) will be moving into the Spruce Building in early 2019 to rapidly evaluate and care for those facing an emergency mental or behavioral health crisis. The CRC will be one of several in the city that support individuals who are struggling with issues like suicidal ideation, anxiety, depression, and psychosis and are in need of immediate help. By moving the center into a more modern space with architecture and design elements informed by the specific needs of behavioral health patients, PAH will be able to provide the proper care in a safe and comfortable setting and ultimately improve outcomes. The center will utilize multiple points of entry to ensure that those experiencing more severe symptoms or being involuntarily admitted can be given the attention and support they need, and the location will create a more efficient transport and handoff process.
“I see a direct connection between the hospital’s early reputation as a pioneer in humane psychiatric treatment and the value of the new CRC,” O’Neill said. “The layout of the center underscores how operations and the needs of certain patient populations come together to inform the architectural and design elements. Whether our patients need physical or mental health care, we’re always striving to create better environments to support them.”