PUYALLUP, Wash. -- Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup recently underwent a high-tech makeover.
The new facility is now twice the size of the old one, and the changes are revolutionizing patient care.
One of the changes can be noticed right when patients walk in the doors -- it's calm and soothing in the waiting room, away from diagnostic and treatment rooms.
"Coming to a hospital can feel pretty hectic," said Clinical Project Manager Kathleen Thomas. "You're nervous and we are trying to create an environment where they come in and it's relaxing."
Patient rooms upstairs are spacious, all private and each feature something few hospitals can boast -- a smart board that allows patients to access the Internet, radio and TV. It even helps with translations.
That same technology also allows the patient to know who's coming into the room at all times by putting up the picture and position of each staff member.
In the ER there's a major transformation from the old space built in the 1950's, no longer separating trauma patients by curtains.
"All of that time that would have typically been wasted in the past now gets reallocated to the patient," said Thomas.
The ER and general lobby will open Thursday, with the rest of the hospital opening by the end of March.
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