The NEW Four-Story Lasko Tower Offers All-Private Rooms and Orthopaedic, Maternity, Cardiac and Radiation Oncology Care.
Published: The Chester County Hospital Foundation Donor Report FY2014
The brand new four-story Chester County Hospital Lasko Tower is now fully open for business and is getting rave reviews from patients all over Chester County, PA.
The second-floor Mother and Baby Pavilion is humming with families welcoming precious new additions. On the third-floor Orthopaedic Unit, adult patients who have just undergone joint replacement surgery are resting in their spacious private rooms anticipating a future free of joint pain. The ground floor houses a convenient state-of-the-art Radiation Therapy Suite and the fourth floor Telemetry Unit allows high-tech monitoring of abnormal heart activity using the latest devices. All to provide better patient care while enhancing the hospital stay!
The opening of the Lasko Tower at Chester County Hospital was a progressive event. The Radiation Therapy Suite and Telemetry Unit opened in June 2013. The Orthopaedic Unit welcomed its first patient in January 2014, and the Mother and Baby Pavilion threw open its doors May 9, 2014, just in time for Mother's Day.
None of this could have been accomplished without the support and generosity of Chester County Hospital benefactors, who can revel in the part they played in earning glowing patient reviews of the new facilities.
While Janet Kennedy's day and a half stay on the new Orthopaedic Unit was brief, her impression of the amenities is vivid. "I knew I was going to be in one of the new rooms after my surgery, but I was still surprised at how nice and spacious it was," Janet remembers. "My husband could have stayed overnight if necessary because there was a convertible sofa in the room. There were electric shades on the windows that I could control remotely."
The Orthopaedic Unit houses 24 private rooms large enough to accommodate physical therapy and any equipment -- walkers, wheelchairs -- necessary to get a patient back on his or her feet.
Besides physical therapy in patient rooms, there is a modern rehabilitation gym that addresses the patient's every need. The gym features tools like stairs, a mock tub and a car simulator. After all, a patient needs to be able to get into a car comfortably to go home!
One floor down and four months later, the Mother and Baby Pavilion opened on May 5 with a cocktail reception for community benefactors. After greetings from Chester County Hospital officials, the 130 guests toured the family friendly secure unit, which is expected to welcome about 2,500 babies a year. Guests saw the 24 private patient rooms, the nesting room (a quiet place where adoptive parents can bond with their new child and receive newborn education), the centrally located well-baby nursery, and the family lounge, which includes a snack and beverage area for family and friends of patients.
Some mothers-to-be got a sneak peek when the Hospital threw a baby shower/open house for them and offered tours of the unit. May 9, the day the unit officially opened, the family of the first baby born was welcomed with flowers, balloons and a photo. On Mother's Day, Michael Duncan, Chester County Hospital President and CEO, presented every new mom on the unit with a bag of goodies, flowers and a memorable tiara.
For West Chester, PA-resident Desireé Cresta, this was her fifth visit to Chester County Hospital to have a baby. Tessa was born May 27 and Desireé says this birth was different from her others. "Having a private room was so wonderful," she says. "The European style rain shower with water jets along the walls was heavenly after having been in labor."
Thinking back on her four previous experiences, Desireé says a private room "gives you a special time to bond with your child. And for a first-time mom it's so important because you're trying to figure out breastfeeding, trying to get some sleep." Desiree really appreciated the snack bar. "Before, if you had a baby at lunchtime you'd have to send your husband out to get food if it was between meals, so having that little kitchenette is so nice."
The goal of the new facility was to provide state-of-the-art evidence-based care with the latest technology and comforts. Rave patient reviews validate the goal.
By Gail Guterl