When The Ohio University Wexner Medical Center moved the last patient from its legacy buildings into a new 850-bed, 2-million-square-foot tower, it marked the start of a new era for the health system.

But it came with myriad challenges, particularly with the evolution of digital transformation outpacing the design process. “The reality is, we were planning the technology probably three to five years ago for a building that opened in February,” said Thomas Bentley, Chief Information and Digital Transformation Officer. “That was one of the hardest aspects of it.”

During a 229 Podcast interview, he spoke with Bill Russell about the roadblocks – both expected and unexpected – that come with new construction, how they’ve managed them, and the advice he would offer others.

Redefining Patient Experience

Thomas Bentley

The core driver, not surprisingly, was to provide an enhanced patient experience. To that end, every patient room in the new tower is equipped with a two-way camera enabling virtual nursing, sitter capabilities, and remote consultations. Also included is a 75-inch TV that serves as a communication and care device, identifying staff when they enter, pulling data from the Epic chart, and providing interpretive services and family connections. 

“A lot of people go in and out of the rooms and they’re in scrubs,” which can be overwhelming to occupants, Bentley said. By scanning the screen, they can quickly learn the identity and roles of the individuals. 

Beyond the room, the building itself has changed the feel of care delivery, with natural light, spacious break rooms, and an environment designed explicitly to offer a sense of ease for patients and staff. “The mood in the building just seems to be different than what it was in some of our older buildings,” Bentley noted.

A Network Under Strain

Another factor in that change? The new hospital and its neighboring buildings now operate with more than 100 autonomous delivery robots that move supplies to units, remove waste, and stock operating rooms with sterile packs. As a result, they’ve become a visible part of the patient experience, which, according to Bentley, was intentional. “We’ve tried to do it in a warm and welcoming way to instill confidence so they feel we are giving them the best care possible.”

Beneath the visible technology sits a network under significant strain, he said, noting that the number of IP addresses in the new building is around three to five times higher than in the past due to RFID, in-room devices, Internet of Things sensors, and wireless cameras, which “really eat at the bandwidth,” he added. “The amount of connectivity needed in a hospital that is state of the art is significant and is something we have to keep a close eye on.”

To that end, the team wired everything they could while still leaning heavily on Wi-Fi, and they continue to monitor bandwidth consumption closely as video and other high-demand applications scale up.

Integration Was the Hard Part

For Bentley, the defining challenge of the project wasn’t any single technology; it was getting systems to work together. For instance, RFID integrated with the nurse call system, which integrates with mobile devices for alerts and texts, and in turn, ties into the telemetry monitoring system.

“This was the first time we had brought all those together, integrated perfectly,” he said, offering advice for leaders planning similar projects. “Think about the integration challenges early and set up as much testing simulation room time with your teams as you can beforehand. Because there will be a lot of bugs and kinks that need to be worked out.”

The Future-Proofing Problem

Some issues, on the other hand, are much more difficult to manage. Case in point? The technology featured at the hospital’s launch is outdated from the jump. “We now have, with a building that’s two months old, technology that’s three to four years old,” Bentley said. “I don’t know how you future proof a lot of that.”

The industry hasn’t helped. Epic has matured significantly in the time between when the project was scoped and when it went live. What a vendor promised in 2022 may look quite different from what it delivers today – or what a competing platform now offers, meaning that Bentley’s team is already looking at where next-generation components may need to be introduced.

Some of the functionalities he’d like to see? Temperature monitoring for the building’s extensive network of freezers and refrigerators, and patient-facing RFID, which can assist with identifying bottlenecks and measuring throughput.

It’s the type of operational intelligence that he believes can genuinely transform care delivery, and move Wexner closer to its original goal of “making a big impact for both clinicians and patients,” he concluded. “We’re very proud.”