Cardinal News: Then & Now takes a look back at the stories we brought you over the last 12 months. Through the end of the year, we’re sharing updates on some of the people and issues that made news in 2024. This installment: Carilion Clinic’s $500 million Roanoke hospital expansion.
Last December, Carilion Clinic celebrated the completion of the vertical construction for its $500 million Crystal Spring Tower project at Roanoke Memorial Hospital. Nearly a year later, many of the lower levels are complete.
The hospital is on track to open the tower in the summer of 2025, which will centralize the hospital’s cardiovascular services, expand the emergency department and add a helipad with direct access to the emergency department.
[Disclosure: Carilion Clinic is one of our donors, but donors have no say in news decisions; see our policy.]
Announced in 2019, the new tower has 12 floors with two underground levels for parking and 10 above ground, adding 400,000 square feet to the hospital.
Patient rooms for the cardiac intensive care unit on the sixth floor are equipped with special windows and a bespoke camera in the ceiling to make it easier for nurses to monitor patients, said Sarah Henshaw, senior director of nursing for the Carilion Cardiovascular Institute. Patients will also have access to an iPad that they can use to order food and see details about their treatment plans.
“There’s just more hands-on information,” Henshaw said.
The rooms are also equipped with lifts built into the ceiling to help safely turn patients.
In the old hospital, Hoyer lifts, devices that help nurses lift and move patients who have limited mobility, are moved between rooms. A 12-room floor usually has around five lifts, Henshaw said.
“Having a lift in every room is going to make a huge difference,” she said.
There are seven operating rooms in the new tower, each designed with the help of hospital staff who had the opportunity to use virtual reality to test the layout and provide feedback.
The expanded emergency department will connect to Roanoke Memorial’s existing ED, incorporating additional space that includes a newly added pediatric trauma bay.
As the only Level I pediatric trauma center in the region, Carilion has long needed a space specifically designed for treating children. Pediatric medical equipment differs significantly from that used for adults, and the new specialized trauma bay will streamline workflows for medical staff, reduce delays for patients and improve outcomes for young patients, according to Wrenn Brendel, senior director of emergency services.
