Twig Surgical Center Opens
New Unit Contains 24 Private Rooms

Comfortable and spacious rooms

A new, up-to-date surgical center at Inova Alexandria
Hospital has opened
and is accepting
patients.

Construction on the
24-bed Twig Surgical
Center, for patients
recovering from
inpatient surgery,
was completed in
November. In a shift
from the former center, all the rooms are private. Inova Alexandria Hospital understands that patients and physicians have choices regarding where they have or perform surgery. The Twig Surgical Center offers patients and their physicians surroundings conducive to recovery post-surgery.

Among the other patient room highlights: Every room has a sleep chair to promote family stays and involvement in the patient's care. Two of the rooms are executive suites with anterooms that contain a couch and two chairs. Each room has a window.

"We did a lot to make sure it is a comfortable space for patients and their families," says Valerie Murphy, Patient Care Director at the Center.

The Center, which is located in a wing just above the Emergency Department, is part of Project 2010, a major renovation initiative at the hospital. (See opposite page for more information). Construction and equipment for the surgical unit cost a total of about $5 million. The Twig, the junior auxiliary of Inova Alexandria Hospital, pledged $1 million and encouraged additional private donations of another $1 million. The hospital provided the remainder of
the funding.

New private rooms

Patient-Centered Care
Murphy takes pride in the various amenities available at the Center. Among them: Patient rooms include handicap-accessible bathrooms, and the showers contain removable showerheads. Nurses' work areas are spaced around the unit, so nurses can see into rooms, whose doors are all-glass. (A curtain can be pulled for privacy.) A unit-based therapy gym, comprised of glass on one side, indicates to patients and their families that surgical recovery is imminent and begins soon after the procedure. Special high-back chairs that roll are available for hip and knee replacement patients. Each hallway has markers at certain intervals so patients can see how far they have walked. The unit is also wired for remote telemetry to assist in the care of the surgical patient who may need remote monitoring after surgery.