In January 2016, the Clinical Center opened a renovated family waiting room for patients in the NIH Clinical Center's Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
Dr. John I. Gallin, director of the Clinical Center, hosted a ribbon cutting, along with Heidi Grolig, executive director of Friends of Patients at the NIH, a non-profit focused on supporting patients receiving treatment at NIH.
The Clinical Center hosts a 12-bed Medical/Surgical ICU with an adjoining six-bed intermediate care unit. This unit provides hemodynamic monitoring (measuring the blood pressure inside the veins, heart and arteries), diagnostic ultrasound, ventilator support, renal replacement (support for patients with impaired kidney function) and cardiovascular assistance.
Maureen Gormley, Clinical Center chief operating officer, was inspired to launch the Clinical Center-wide project to renovate the hospital family waiting rooms after having spent weeks last year at a Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston with a sick family member. She was compelled by the quality of their waiting space and approached Grolig to partner on this project.
"Providing the highest quality patient care at the Clinical Center includes caring for the caregivers," Gormley said. "Families need a place to wait, unwind, and relax outside the patient care unit. Fixing our rooms for this purpose is right in line with the mission of the Friends of the Patients at NIH and we are so grateful for their support."
The waiting room was renovated to add space for conversation, watching TV, dining and playing table games. The construction also added more convenient access for guests to charge their electronic devices to ensure they can keep in touch with family, work and other aspects of their lives while supporting loved ones through treatment and recovery.