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<\/p>\nA new 10-story hospital tower at Abbott Northwestern is adding rooms, technology and new care spaces in south Minneapolis.<\/p>\n
The new Richard M. Schulze Surgical and Critical Care Center, attached to Abbott Northwestern in south Minneapolis, includes 190 hospital rooms \u2014 50 more than the old hospital.<\/p>\n
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5 EYEWITNESS NEWS Kevin Doran sat down with Whitney Johnson, Vice President of Operations at Abbott.<\/p>\n
Kevin Doran: \u201cSo this is the Phillips neighborhood, one of the most economically disadvantaged in Minneapolis. Why would Allina invest a billion dollars here?\u201d <\/p>\n
Whitney Johnson: \u201cAllina Health has been invested in the Phillips community for over 140 years, and we certainly have no intent to stop investing in this community, which was a big driver of the project. We hire employees from this neighborhood, we train staff from this neighborhood, and of course, we take care of patients in this neighborhood. So, we\u2019re very much committed to it, and have been for many, many years.\u201d<\/p>\n
The rooms include AI technology such as digital patient boards, TVs and cameras for telehealth and education. The hospital also says the system can monitor patients to help prevent falls.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s inside?<\/p>\n
\u201cThis technology will watch a patient\u2019s movements, and if a patient flips their leg off the side of the bed, they\u2019re still in bed, they\u2019re not falling yet, but they\u2019re on their way. That will alert a nurse or an aide, \u2018Hey, Jean, in that room is about to get up, we got to do something,’\u201d Dr. Jean Watson said.<\/p>\n
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The tower also has 30 new operating rooms. Some include an MRI scanner that moves between surgical suites, and the building uses pneumatic tubes to move garbage off-site.<\/p>\n
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Kevin Doran shows the new robot elevator in the hospital (KSTP-TV).<\/p>\n
Also inside the new building is a robot elevator that comes through a tunnel three blocks away, loaded with medical supplies, bedding, and food.<\/p>\n
The project also includes features meant to make patients and families more comfortable, including a mural on the ceiling of the emergency department parking area, natural lighting and a rooftop healing garden.<\/p>\n
Project challenges<\/p>\n
\u201cThis project hits every single difficult box that you could check,\u201d Mike Labukas said.<\/p>\n
Labukas, with Mortenson Construction, has managed crews of more than 1,000 people for the past six years. He said the work happened while keeping the Abbott Northwestern campus operating.<\/p>\n
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\u201cBut it\u2019s an urban site, it\u2019s a tight site. We had skyways, we have tunnels, but most importantly, we have the mission to keep the entire Abbott Northwestern campus live, running unimpacted at all times during the construction of this new hospital,\u201d Labukas said.<\/p>\n
As for how construction potentially impacted healthcare costs for patients, Johnson said, \u201cThere were many design decisions that went into this project that included incorporating technology and automation, that ultimately allow us to be more efficient.\u201d<\/p>\n
Allina Health says that efficiency helps it deliver high-quality care in a cost-effective way.<\/p>\n