Southwest Naturopathic Medical Center Undergoes Renovation

 

 

The week of August 14th was busy at Southwest Naturopathic Medical Center when it closed its doors for a week as a renovation/expansion took place. Contractors, students, and staff from the college and the medical center worked around the clock to accomplish the expanded facilities and the new look. Some even brought their significant others to join in on the fun!

The long hours and hard work paid off and Southwest Naturopathic Medical Center expanded a total of 500 square feet. The Medicinary nearly doubled in size with more retail space, separate tincture and IV work areas (both with sinks), more work stations, and two registers. The final touches are still being worked on which include labeling software, comcash upgrade, the IV hood, and overall organization.

Renovated patient exam room		The new IV suite almost complete

The IV suite moved to a more centralized location within the center with increased natural lighting. IV Chairs are now set up as stations for an easier flow through the space. In addition, a Hydro/Treatment suite was created in the southern end of the building. It has room for at least three beds and a staging area for students to prepare the materials for hydrotherapies. Additionally, this room can be used for physical medicine and acupuncture. The hydrocolator and the roasting pan for hydros can be found in this room and when the room is completed it will also include a freezer and towel warmer.

Two new exam rooms were constructed, one in the southern and one in the northern end of the center. Both rooms have sinks and at this time GYN rooms and all exam rooms now have desks. To create a more flexible and usable space, the number of physical medicine rooms has been reduced from three to two.

New Welch-Allyn equipment was installed so there is now a complete set of medical equipment - including thermometers and upgraded otoscope heads in each exam room. Additionally Southwest Naturopathic Medical Center has two new EKG/Spirometers, one is stationed in the Minor Surgery room and the other is on a cart in the hallway leading to Colonics/Hydro Treatment suite. An AED will be installed soon with an emergency “crash cart”.

There is a new intake room which can be used for patient consults for homeopathy, counseling, patient education, and/or neurofeedback.

There are now four distinct classroom meeting areas for students and physicians. Each classroom is outfitted with a computer, imaging view box, cubbies for student items, and a white board. All computers (and student laptops) can print to a network printer in the new library area. Additionally, IT is working on and will soon complete cabling so that all classrooms can be linked to the Minor surgery room, intake room and the 2nd new intake room for students’ clinical training.

A separate library area within the medical center was developed which consists of the library, the copier, network printer, a bank of imaging view boxes for teaching purposes, and a computer. Also, Southwest Naturopathic Medical Center is now equipped with a kitchen/break area. This is an L-shaped area with a sink, refrigerator, two microwaves and a seating area.

To increase customer service, Southwest Naturopathic Medical Center developed a Call Center which will be staffed to triage all incoming calls to the medical center. Also, a new office suite, “The Northern Hemisphere,” now houses the Administrative Assistant to the CMO, Chief Medical Officer, Residency Director and Clinical Dean.

Overall, there is a change in the way the space is organized within the medical center for improved flow. This is just another step Southwest Naturopathic Medical Center is taking to better service our patients.