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Author: Carmencita Agcaoili, MD
Specialty: Intensivist - Critical Care
With the move-in date for the new Morris Hyman Critical Care Pavilion fast approaching, the excitement among Washington Hospital staff – myself included – is palpable. More than just a shiny, new facility, the Critical Care Pavilion is a place of healing. It is a place that meets the thoughtful vision of our board of directors, staff, physicians and volunteers, as well as our community.
Here are some of the ways in which the Morris Hyman Critical Care Pavilion improves the patient experience.
The new Critical Care Pavilion helps us better serve our growing community in a safe and very private environment that promotes the healing process. Admitted patients will now be in their own rooms. Not only will this help maintain privacy during patient-physician consults, it reduces noise and provides more space to receive visitors.
The number one issue that faces any hospital environment is infection control. In addition to delaying the healing process, infectious agents and diseases put other patients at risk of complication. While improving privacy, having single-patient rooms has the additional benefit of reducing the spread of infection. Larger, more spread out waiting areas, closed air systems with negative pressure areas, and sterilizing anterooms help control contagious disease. On a more macroscopic level, the state-of-the-art base isolation system that the facility is built on will help ensure critical emergency services are available in the event of a major earthquake.
Hospital stays are rarely happy occasions. When someone is admitted through the emergency department, that typically means they have a road to recovery ahead. When faced with that, every detail makes a difference. The Critical Care Pavilion uses design to promote healing. Large windows, terraces for fresh air, gardens and quiet spaces to rest, help reduce patient stress, making the recovery process just that much easier.
Hospitalization can be a scary experience. In the design of the Critical Care Pavilion, we wanted to make sure patients didn’t have to go through the healing process alone. Private rooms allow space for family to visit and support patients in this sensitive time – there are even pullout beds for family members to stay in the room overnight. While a hospital will never compare to the comforts of home, we’ve focused on creating an environment that makes it easy for support systems to do what they do best.
As someone who works exclusively in critical care, the thing I’m most excited about is the space. It’s amazing what breathing room will do for productivity and satisfaction. The Critical Care Pavilion was designed to meet the current needs of our community with room to grow. Rather than have every square inch of the facility developed and full of patients, there are empty spaces that will allow us to grow our offerings and capabilities to adapt to the future needs of our district. While we do have plans and goals for these spaces, the versatility it allows helps Washington Hospital attract and retain the best physicians and clinicians to ensure we can continue to offer the highest quality of care right here in our community.
Posted October, 2018
About Carmencita Agcaoili, MD
Carmencita Agcaoili, MD, graduated from the University of the Philippines and the University of East, Ramon Magsaysay Medical Center. She completed her Internal Medicine residency at St. Barnabas Hospital (affiliate of Cornell Medical Center) in New York. She did her fellowship in Pulmonary-Critical Care at the University of Southern California – Los Angeles County Hospital. Dr. Agcaoili also worked as a Clinical Specialist in a Tuberculosis Clinic, and as an Urgent Care Physician at Claude-Hudson Clinic in Los Angeles from 1988 - 1993. She is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Critical Care, is a Fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians, and has been in private practice since 1991. Dr. Agcaoili is the medical director of critical care at Washington Hospital, where in 2008 she started the intensivist program. She is also the medical director of the Respiratory Care Department at Ohlone Community College. Dr. Agcaoili is interested in Asthma/COPD Care, Pulmonary Rehabilitation and Critical care.