FACILITY
Lawrence Memorial Hospital West Campus | Lawrence, KS
DESIGNERS
Pulse Design Group
Shield Casework
MANUFACTURER
Shield Casework
COMPLETION DATE
2014
SCOPE
20 Solid Surface Interlocking Pass Through Cabinets
5 Solid Surface Documentation Stations
Waterproof Hydrotherapy Casework
About this project
Completing the new West Campus in 2020, Lawrence Memorial Hospital (LMH Health) continues to expand on their mission of providing exceptional patient care for all. The almost 250,000 square-foot facility primarily offers outpatient services—including surgery, physical and occupational therapy, women’s health center and more.
Shield, in partnership with local architecture and design firm Pulse Design Group, developed a variety of custom, solid surface solutions for LMH Health’s new facility. Product types ranging from interlocking pass-through cabinets to waterproof hydrotherapy casework were designed with clinical efficiency, patient safety and lifetime value in-mind.
Operating Rooms
A key improvement to LMH Health’s Surgery Center was the installation of solid surface pass-through casework to their operating rooms. Due to the high-volume, rapid turnover nature of LMH Health’s surgery schedule, efficiency and sterilization were top priority in the development of this product.
With these pass-through cabinets, nurses or supply liaisons can stock for the next surgery while the current surgery is still being performed, most importantly, without “breaking the field” or compromising the sterility of the operating room. Shield’s addition of transparent doors allows the supply captain to see storage levels (items like gauze, sutures, etc.) at a glance; while the pass-through nature of the cabinets enables them to restock immediately, streamlining the process vs. having to wait until the surgery is complete.
Besides basic ease of use for the hospital staff, the pass-through casework have a direct impact on the surgery schedule. With a normal lag of 10–20 minutes between surgeries, eliminating stocking the cabinets from the post-op list enables staff to focus on just sterilizing the room, in-turn saving time. By taking back approximately 10 minutes per surgery, four surgeries per day, then LMH Health is able to accommodate one additional surgery per day in each OR.