HOSPITAL UPDATE: Kentfield Hospital

Rebecca Hardberger, Esq.

Kentfield Hospital has played an important role in Marin County’s health care community for nearly four decades. The facility, which originally operated as an acute rehab hospital, transitioned to a long-term acute care hospital (LTACH) in 1999, and now focuses on medically complex patients who require extended acute hospitalization. The hospital has undergone significant changes since 1999, both in the number of specialized services offered and in the physical transformation of the facility. A $15 million hospital-wide renovation began in 2012 and has focused on cosmetic improvements as well as technological advancements. The hospital is now in the final phase of its upgrade, with completion expected by spring 2015.

Renovation of patient rooms is almost complete. The improved rooms feature ceiling-mounted lift systems to facilitate safe patient handling, enlarged windows, built-in casework, updated lighting, and new headwalls with track systems for managing and storing bedside equipment.

“The rooms look fantastic,” says Chief Executive Officer Ann Gors. “Patients and family members love the new space; we have already seen the results in our patient satisfaction scores.”

Remodeled interior space at Kentfield Hospital

In the next phase of renovation, the hospital will develop patient-friendly areas, such as a family room that provides an alternative to the institutional setting of a hospital. “The family room will have recliner chairs, a big-screen TV and a refreshment cart to provide families with respite while supporting their loved ones through the hospitalization,” notes Gors. “We’re also excited about plans for an interior courtyard that will be handicapped accessible and feature meandering pathways, private seating areas, pleasant landscaping and a beautiful stone fountain. Our plan is to create an environment that incorporates some of California’s beautiful landscape to promote healing.”

In other news, the hospital plans to expand into San Francisco. The facility has been looking for ways to expand access to its services in the city, the Peninsula and the South Bay. To this end, it has entered into negotiations with St. Mary’s Medical Center to open an LTACH satellite unit on the sixth floor of the medical center. Final execution of the agreement between Kentfield and St. Mary’s is pending an advanced determination from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Assuming the agreement is approved, Kentfield plans to lease the sixth floor of St. Mary’s and develop a 40-bed unit—the Kentfield Hospital San Francisco Campus, which will offer the same level of care available at the main campus in Kentfield.

The San Francisco campus will provide a vital service within the continuum of care in the Bay Area. The unit will be the first and only LTACH in San Francisco. Its location will provide convenient access to LTACH services for San Francisco, the Peninsula and the South Bay—without patients or their families needing to cross Golden Gate Bridge. Services will include medical management of clinically complex conditions, such as respiratory failure and ventilator weaning, post-ICU neurological monitoring and management, and advanced wound management.

The remodel at St. Mary’s is anticipated to begin this winter, and the opening is scheduled for spring 2015. Renovation plans for the sixth floor include adding a pharmacy, laboratory and radiology department. All of the patient rooms will be private, and the unit will be equipped with a state-of-the-art communications system that directly connects patients and caregivers through an integrated nurse call system, with staff assigned mobile phones. The system will also transmit critical alarm information to staff members, ensuring an immediate and appropriate response.

Through all this growth and change, Kentfield Hospital’s primary focus is to provide the best possible care for patients. The renovations and proposed expansion will enhance the hospital’s ability to provide exemplary treatment to even more patients in the Bay Area.

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Ms. Hardberger is the human resources director and compliance officer at Kentfield Hospital.
Email: rhardberger@kentfieldrehab.com