New Family Practice Center Offers Health Care To Local Community

When moving day arrived in mid-January, they didn’t have far to go. Furniture, equipment and supplies had to be transported only a quarter of a mile away. Yet for the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, opening the doors of their new building on Colonial Drive represented a vast leap in efficiency and the ability to serve patients in a timely and economic manner.

The 32,000-square foot, two-story structure at 3209 Colonial Drive is just slightly larger than the department’s previous facility at Six Medical Park. The dramatic difference comes in the configuration, in which clinical services and office/educational space are separated onto two different floors, and where patients report to a centralized check-in and check-out desk flanked by two patient care wings. Leaving Six Medical Park also meant vacating an aging building that was costly to maintain. “It was way past its life expectancy,” said Dr. Tan Platt, Vice Chair, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine. “Now we’ve got a bright modern office building that we can be proud of and where patients can be very comfortable,” he said.

An addition of two exam rooms means that a total of 38 exam rooms are available, along with three procedure rooms. Situating the procedure rooms side-by-side was another step to increase efficiency. “This should enable us to do more. The staff can get one procedure started, then go into another room and work with another patient,” said Dr. Platt.

Another addition, a patient education center, is conveniently housed in a nook off the first floor waiting room. Two computers with high-speed Internet access are available in the center for patient use. "We have seen that some of the best resources are online or on CD, and many patients do not have Internet access," said Dr. John Lammie, an associate professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine. "We wanted an area where we could direct patients to access the most updated educational materials," he explained. The computers are networked so a mini classroom setting can be structured with several people watching the same materials at once. A variety of brochures on various health topics and disease processes are also available in the center.

Educational resources for Family Medicine residents have also been enhanced with an expanded and better-equipped library, located adjacent to the resident offices on the second floor. A ceremony was held in March to dedicate the Brenda Boehm Library, named in memory of a third-year Family Medicine resident who died in an auto accident in 1999. A photo and plaque were placed to honor Brenda, who Dr. Lammie described as, "one of those people with an effervescent and ever-present smile. An outstanding academic resident, she was also part of the cement that pulled her class together." He added, "The library perpetuates her honor as a well-rounded person who was deeply committed to self-learning."

Educational sessions can be scheduled in a larger conference room that allows up to 100 people to be comfortably seated. The fully equipped room is complete with video conferencing capabilities, and can be divided into three smaller sections for meetings or teaching activities.

From a patient's perspective, the benefits of the new Family Practice Center are apparent from the time they arrive, including ample parking in the lot across from the facility, a covered entryway, and additional handicap parking spaces in front of the building. Those who pay particular attention may stop and read the special bricks on the front walkway. Names of donors are engraved on the bricks, which were sold as a means of equipping the patient education center.

Patients from the neighborhood can also take advantage of being able to walk to a doctor's appointment. While the center is tucked into the heart of a residential area, the attractive two-story structure doesn't seem out of place. "This move has actually put us out into the community," Dr. Platt said. For Dr. Lammie, the new location brings exciting new possibilities with it. "From my standpoint I see this as an opportunity for us to be reborn, and to become relevant as a neighborhood health center. It really makes us a portal to the hospital. I see us as the arms of the hospital reaching out into the community," he said.

Reprinted from Connections newsletter, April 2003

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