Growth spurt at Moses Cone : News-Record.com : Greensboro & the Triad's most trusted source for local news and analysis

GREENSBORO — As a cardiologist, Dr. Henry “Hank” Smith sees areas every day where the 1950s-era Moses Cone Hospital could improve.

Take the emergency room, which, despite multiple upgrades over the years, is too small for patients’ needs, he said.

On Wednesday , the hospital begins work on the North Tower, the heart of its more than $200 million expansion and renovation project. Work will include a larger, modernized ER.

“Having an updated facility will really allow us to be on the cutting edge in terms of technology and allow us to provide the high-quality care that we want to provide for the community,” said Smith, chairman of the hospital system’s board of trustees.

Cone has undergone several expansions and updates since it opened in 1953 . But the North Tower is by far the largest.

It’s not the only work being done in the hospital system. Construction already has begun on the $15 million Alight Breast Cancer Center at Wesley Long Community Hospital, which will see its emergency department expanded later this year for $18.8 million.

Another $10.7 million — most of that for new equipment — would add surgery capability to the not quite 2-year-old MedCenter High Point , pending state approval.
The cost of the projects will be picked up by the hospital, through reserves and bonds, President and CEO Tim Rice said.

“The point is we’re here to serve our communities,” Rice said. “We need to look ahead. That’s what we’re trying to do, provide the resources into our community way into the future.”

Other major hospitals in North Carolina are investing millions to upgrade and expand, despite the country’s slow recovery from the Great Recession. The health care industry is expected to see modest growth in construction projects this year with more substantial growth in 2012, according to the American Institute of Architects.
It’s a good time because construction costs are low, Rice said.

All that growth comes with a price. The work at Wesley Long has claimed parking space. So patients have valet service, and employees take a shuttle to Friendly Center where the hospital system has leased parking spots.

At Moses Cone, early work for the North Tower and renovations — a $20 million energy system already has been built — also resulted in a valet service for patients. Doctors lost a parking lot. The emergency room entrance was relocated. “We’ve put a lot of things in place just to handle the disruption already,” Rice said.

The six-story North Tower will add more than 260,000 square feet to the hospital. The addition includes three new nursing units and allows nearly all of Cone’s patient rooms to be private. Cone has 548 licensed beds.

All 16 operating rooms on the hospital’s second floor will be replaced by larger rooms to better accommodate surgical teams and more equipment. The emergency department will expand by 48,000 square feet, and the main entrance will move to North Church Street.

The North Tower work is slated to be finished by June 2013 . The renovations will take until early 2015 to complete.

“I know it sounds like we’re spending a lot of money,” Smith said, “but we feel we’re making an investment that will be for the community good.”

Contact Jennifer Fernandez at 373-7064 or jennifer.fernandez@news-record.com

revee

March 26, 2011 - 9:12 am EDT

I realize the firestorm my comments are going to unleash but I feel it must be said. While Moses Cone is working on the growth of the hospital they should also be working on the "girth" of the healthcare providers they employ. There, I've said it. While spending some "quality" time in this facility I was in a position to do nothing for myself following surgery. I was grossly undercared for and each time something was needed I had to wait for a nurse to finish a snack, finish a break or finish a meal. Each caregiver on my floor was overweight by a minimum of 75 pounds and more. While checking out the next day it was troubling to see how many caregivers stopped as they exited the building to "light up". If you want your facility to be successful for the long haul why not instill confidence in the public by getting your healthcare providers in decent physical condition? Why doesn't Moses Cone follow the lead of other healthcare systems in the country? A good example would be the Inova Healthcare System in and around the DC and upper Virginia area. They are half the size but with twice the number of employees, immaculate facilities, fit and healthy employees and NO smoking. Why not start there instead of with a building blitz?

pixelpusher

March 26, 2011 - 10:21 am EDT

revee--

Do you really think Moses Cone cares about you or its employees? Heath care is a BUSINESS and they treat it as such. Period. The bottom line is their concern.

Having said that, my girlfriend is a nurse at Moses Cone. She is not overweight, takes care of herself and doesn't smoke. I see firsthand everyday how serious she is about her job and the people that are under her care.

But you're right. You shouldn't have to be taken care of by someone who smells like cigarette smoke. But unless it can change Moses Cone's bottom line, it won't change.

March 26, 2011 - 10:31 am EDT

Point taken....there are exceptions to every rule. Moses Cone is a prime example of business overgrowth. They have grown too large, too quickly, without putting the proper number of qualty employees in place to serve the patients adequately. You are exactly right about the bottom line, which is, unfortunately, what drives health care in the U.S.

Bosco

March 26, 2011 - 12:06 pm EDT

It's not just in the hospitals. In the past year I have been to my primary care physician, a urologist and an ophthamologist. In each case the assistants from the front desk back were mostly obese. I'm not talking plump, I'm talking lardos. The doctors seem to all be in shape but the people working around them are just plain fat

goodtoknow

March 26, 2011 - 9:45 am EDT

There's going to be a shortage of doctors in the future. An estimated 60,000 by 2015- 91,000 by 2025- and 130,000 in the 2030's. About 1/3 of the present doctors are baby boomers and will probably retire soon. Then factor in Obamacare and you've got 30,000,000 new people on the rolls. Less people are becoming doctors for many reasons and there will not be enough to go around. Medicaid and Medicare do not pay enough for doctors to take on new patients. Sadly, it sounds like less health care and long waiting periods. Is this CHANGE you can believe in?

bigfish

March 26, 2011 - 10:00 am EDT

This has nothing to do with the physical condition of the current doctors, nurses and other health care givers nor to the poor quality of care currently being offered in some areas. Don't enter my exam room to talk to me about my blood pressure if both sides of your buttocks rub the door casing as you enter or if your uniform reeks of cigarette smoke. The hospitals and doctors need to get their "houses" in order and then try to convince me that we have the best and ?most affordable? health care in the world.

Panacea

March 26, 2011 - 12:34 pm EDT

We do not have a shortage of doctors. The shortage is in primary care givers. Nurse practitioners and PAs will probably fill that shortfall until the PPACA kicks in the provisions that provide more reimbursement to primary care. In fact, the most recent "match" for residencies saw a spike in applications for primary care residencies this year (too soon to say if the PPACA influenced those decisions though).

The medical schools are full, and competition to get in is still fierce. We're not going to have a shortage of doctors.

March 26, 2011 - 2:40 pm EDT

You're wrong Panacea, it was just reported this week. I stand on my figures. Where do you get yours?

March 26, 2011 - 2:46 pm EDT

PA's are excellent but they are not doctors. I also heard that brought up, which means there is a shortage. PA's and nurses will fill that gap. You have a better understanding of the facts in medicine than I do, but those are facts that were reported.

ustaxpayer

March 26, 2011 - 3:38 pm EDT

As a pharmacist that has over 10 years hospial experience, I would NEVER trust a PA. If you pay to see a physican, you see a physican. Also, I just need to say that we ALL need to be scared and run from OBAMA "CARE". I just learned froma a fellow Cone Pharmacist that hospitals in general are going to be "REWARED" from running less diagnostic tests on patients....If they don't have a documented discovery of a problem, they don't have to treat it. Wake up people!! I prefer to be treated at High Point Regional...I do not trust Cone.,,,

chicagobears925

March 26, 2011 - 8:24 pm EDT

I am glad that you do not represent the majority of pharmacists. Your verbal diarrhea about PA's is a disgrace to you and your profession. I am glad you do not work anywhere near me. Your comments are so idiotic they really don't deserve a response. As with any area of medicine there are good nurses and bad, there are good doctors and bad, there are good pharmacists and bad, and there are good PA's and bad. You must be one of the ones that are not a good member of the health care team. I am a PA and have a great working relationship with the pharmacists at the hospital I work. If you think just putting MD behind your name means you are in the clear think again. I take my job very seriously and I hold myself to the high standard. I will agree with you on one thing. RUN FROM OBAMACARE.

March 27, 2011 - 9:05 pm EDT

Sorry to burst your bubble, but his opinion is not unique among health care professionals.

Yes, there are some good PAs. In my experience, they are few and far between. I won't let a PA touch me. While I'm sure you hold yourself to a high standard, I've had so many bad experiences with PAs (both as a patient and working with them professionally), they are guilty until proven innocent in my view.

ustaxpayer's characterization of what the PPACA means is completely false. Hospitals are not going to be rewarded for running fewer tests. They will be reimbursed based on whether or not the test was necessary to achieve a good outcome based on the best medical evidence. For example, it is not necessary to do a cardac cath and stent placement on a patient with stable angina who passes a stress test. Beta blockers, aspirin, and statins are proven to be the best treatment.

March 27, 2011 - 8:56 pm EDT

The problem is the lack of PRIMARY CARE doctors, not overall doctors. Reporting on physician numbers does not take into account the ratio of physicians to patient by specialty or by region of the country.

Physicians are concentrated in high price urban areas, and high priced specialties. Med students go into big pay specialties like cardiology and neurosurgery so they can a. pay off their student loans, and b. make the kind of money they want to make.

Maggie Mahar is a medical journalist who reports on these issues; this report should explain the issue in more detail. http://www.healthbeatblog.org/2008/10/primary-care-do.html.

March 26, 2011 - 9:56 am EDT

Just as an employee in public service or safety or teaching can be dismissed for having alcohol in his/her system or for being a drug abuser, I feel the Health Care field should be able to dismiss caregivers for obesity or smoking. You cannot, simultaneously, promote healthy living and eating practices on patients while living an unhealthy lifestyle. Does that mean I'm advocating for immediate dismissal? Absolutely not! Smoking cessation, diet and exercise programs could and should be offered. However, if the health care giver refuses to participate in a healthy lifestyle program, then I strongly feel that should be grounds for dismissal. This profession, unlike many others, promotes health by example. You must, of necessity, live what you teach.

March 26, 2011 - 12:40 pm EDT

I agree with the comments that nurses who are overweight or who smoke have a hard time educating patients on lifestyle choices because they set a poor example.

A large part of this is due to the shift work schedules of hospital workers, which leads to poor sleeping, activity, and eating habits, which leads to obesity and encourages the use of stimulants like nicotine and caffeine to get through the "day." It's hard to work out after you've worked a 12 hour day, and you've got a family at home that needs your attention.

Hospitals could fix this by making it easier for employees to eat healthy at work, especially at night, and encouraging them to access exercise facilities on the hospital campus during working hours (giving them a paid or unpaid break to work out), and staffing enough workers to cover for those who are on break.

See that's the problem revee ran into. There are supposed to be enough nurses on duty to cover each others patients while a nurse is on break. But the patient load is so high, that they just can't and patient care suffers. Payroll is the largest expenditure a hospital has, and when times get lean they first thing they do is cut nursing hours. This is not good for patient outcomes, and has been shown so repeatedly in research studies on the issue.

Moses Cone needs to hire more nurses. So does High Point. And so do most of the hospitals across the country.

Lovedmypatients

March 26, 2011 - 8:49 pm EDT

There are more people in Patient Care than just Nurses . People in the medical field have Health Problems also and not everyone who is morbidly obese or smoke are unfit employees. Some of the people care very much about their patients and their outcome. Would you like to know how many times I have had to reschedule a doctor's ,dentist's and/or surgery because of my working schedule and yes had to pay the office fee ? No, I did not think you would care or the fact that we are all Human Being with needs ,make mistakes and some times bad choices. There is a lot of stress that those of us doing the work feel. This is not the type of work that does not follow you home and some of the employees are on -call after they punch out. If you want to be waited on hand and foot the best thing to do is have some one to stay with you or hire your own CNA. Ask questions, and refuse anything that you are not sure about. But this really does not have anything to do with this article or the fact that MCHS wants to can a surgical center at the High Point Med Center. They will need more Adminstrators to watch over that . There needs to be more indians than chiefs in alot of the employment areas. By the way, are we going to just decide that people who are overweight, smoke,older[ can not work] etc. do not need to live or just put them on welfare ?

March 26, 2011 - 9:08 pm EDT

With an IV in and eyes bandaged shut it was a little difficult to do the "self-service" thing. I can tell you to a certainty that everytime a nurse stuck her head in the door while chewing and asked "do ya' need anything" it corresponded directly with each $200 consultation fee I was charged. If they are that overworked how do they have time to eat constantly on the job and take smoking breaks? It should not have taken over 3 hours to get water and ice. It should not have taken 2 hours to get my oxygen hooked up. It should not have taken over 5 hours to get a cup of broth and some crackers. It should not have taken over an hour to get the lady in the bed next to me cleaned up so my family didn't have to open a window to get fresh air. Overworked or not...there's no excuse for that type of care especially at the rates Cone charges. My surgery required a 22 hour stay at Cone. A family member out of state had more invasive surgery and 2 full days as an inpatient and the bill was less than mine. Figure that one out. Many professions have a fitness standard. Health care "professionals" need to set the personal fitness bar higher for themselves. Overwork is no excuse. I'm overworked but I don't overeat to compensate.

March 27, 2011 - 9:15 pm EDT

Lovedmypatients . . . I am well aware of who works in the medical field and their issues: I am a nurse myself.

Nurses have a duty to educate patients on lifestyle choices. If we are going to educate on diet, exercise, and not smoking, drinking or using drugs, we risk being called hypocrites if we do those things ourselves. I think the public has a legit gripe on this issue, and I would rather address the issue head on than hide behind the exuse of "health problems."

I have health problems: depression drove my BMI to 32.9. That doesn't absolve me of the responsibility to deal with the issue myself, and if I am not living a healthy life style, then I am indeed a hypocrite if I criticize a patient for being non-compliant with doctor recommendations. Nurses SHOULD set a standard, and lead by example.

So I do . . . by acknowledging my shortcomings and turning it into an opportunity when I teach healthy lifestyles.

I don't think most patients expect us to wait on them hand and foot. I do think they expect us to be there for them when they need us.

I do agree there needs to be more front line health care workers and fewer administrators. But if a front line worker is overweight, smokes, or is otherwise unhealthy, I think the facility has a vested interest in helping that person live more healthy. I'm suggesting the employer become part of the health solution, by helping the employee. And if that employee refuses to help themselves then they should be penalized via higher health care premiums. Others should not have to pay the costs of my bad choices.

rockinghamgal

March 27, 2011 - 4:28 pm EDT

First of all, Moses Cone is a smoke-free campus (people do not smoke immediately outside doors) and also surcharges employees who smoke with their health premiums as a negative incentive to quit. If you can figure out how to stop all who insist on breaking rules and bypassing incentives, then how about letting the government in on that trick. Second, the weight discussion is much like me discussing the size of your bank account. It may need to be bigger, but it isn't and it certainly is none of my business as long as you leave mine alone. Weight is a personal issue. Moses Cone also offers many incentives to their employees to assist and encourage healthy behaviors. You may offer incentives or chastise one for obesity, but the individual must make the lifestyle changes. Focus on your health care and do not criticize those who work everyday trying to help you to stay alive. We always want to highlight the negative. Get your facts straight. Moses Cone is big business, but if I am having a serious health issue, open the doors because I am on my way. Thanks to all the providers who will help me when I arrive.

slbr549

March 27, 2011 - 4:41 pm EDT

It is surprising to me that folks have commented on obese staff and smokers. True, smokers should definitely smoke away from the building. I'm willing to bet though, that no one even noticed the fit and trim people who were also at the desk eating or snacking away. It is always assumed that only the obese do this. Ha!! Open your eyes and quit being so blind. This type of discrimination is even worse than racism. I've been in hospitals and have had several sugeries and I can tell you that laziness is NOT a weight related condition. Work ethic is NOT a weight related issues. Someday, that obese person just might save your life, and when they do, are you going to say "thanks, but you're fat!" No, I didn't think so.

March 27, 2011 - 9:17 pm EDT

A sendentary lifestyle and poor eating habits absolutely contributes to obesity. That it hasn't caught up with some is not an excuse to ignore it in those it has.

I wouldn't turn down the help of an obese nurse. But I don't want to hear a lecture on my diet or exercise from her.

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