Just past the Northwest YMCA, off 21st Street, Via Christi West sits on 120 acres surrounded by open pastures, overlooking the Mohr family barn, listed on the National Register Of Historic Places. The location will appeal to rural patients who don’t want to come to the “big city,” yet it’s still close enough to serve Wichita, Maize, Goddard, Clearwater and beyond.

Recently I had an opportunity to tour the new hospital. From an immediate aesthetic perspective, the first thing I noticed about the hospital was, well, it didn’t feel like a hospital. From the lobby to the third floor, large windows bathe the facility in sunshine, letting natural light fill the space. Using a new biophilic concept, the hospital is decorated with natural materials and better acoustics, all designed to make the patient feel more comfortable.

Currently the hospital has 68 private rooms and 4 ICU rooms, with plans to expand in the future. Inpatient amenities include nonstick flooring in the bathroom, high-tech beds that can automatically weigh patients, and hospital meals made to order within 30 minutes. One of the best features of the room has to be the multi-function remote control. In addition to classic functions like adjusting television volume and bed position, the new remotes open and close window blinds and with the push of a button, allow patients to call their nurse for specific reasons such as bathroom, pain medication, etc. Tying the remote features to smartphones allows nurses to prioritize patient needs.

In addition to a private OBGYN clinic, the hospital’s New Life Center boasts four labor and delivery suites, C-section room, mom/baby recovery rooms with queen-sized beds and a small, though well-equipped, pediatric NICU.

While touring Via Christi West, it’s easy to see a common-sense approach was taken in the design. The areas seem to flow seamlessly from one unit to the next, particularly around the emergency room. The emergency area is flanked on each side by full-service laboratory and imaging departments. Patients who require further testing or diagnostic studies need only walk a few feet rather than combing a large area or leaving the floor entirely.

My favorite part of the tour was the operating room. I’ve been inside a few on occasion as a patient and just outside a few as a worried mama, but I’ve never had a chance to stand inside one for the sole purpose of education. A member of the OR team was kind enough to take a few minutes out of his busy afternoon to share a few details with me.

Each operating room has its own intranet router, allowing vital patient information to be projected on large, high-definition monitors located throughout the room. This new technology is especially handy when a second opinion is needed. Information can be shared from one operating room to another. The surgeon giving the second opinion never has to scrub-out or leave the patient he’s working on. Other innovations include using LED lights to spotlight the surgical field rather than halogen lights, which often become hot enough to change the patient’s core temperature.

On the subject of lights, visiting surgeons will notice a green hue in the Via Christi West operating rooms. During surgery, a soft green light is used to bathe the room, cutting down on glare while allowing other operating room personnel to walk around without fear of bumping or tripping in a darkened room.

The new Via Christi on West St. Teresa is a nice mix of intimate care and high-tech innovation. The hospital is open to the public in August. For more information including directions, physicians and other detailed information, visit the Via Christi website.

(Image courtesy of Maria Loving)

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Ah… the much talked about, super-hyped device from Apple is now available (although in limited supply).  There were less than 50 available in Wichita on launch day, so for those of you who haven’t pre-ordered, I thought I would provide my sixty-two cents about the tablet that is hailed (by Apple) as “Magical”.

First, it’s beautiful.  In other obvious news, the sky is blue.  This is one of the most beautiful devices ever – inside and out.  Great user interface, sexy screen, fast and fluid transitions – everything about it is beyond supermodel hot.  The question was never “Will Apple make the tablet more attractive than it’s PC brethren?” but rather was it just going to be pretty and cool.

The real question is, is the iPad necessary?  Is it a “must have” device?  That’s what I spent my weekend trying to answer.  And my feeling so far is – it will be.  I think, like the iPod before it, this is going to redefine how we interact with media.  The iPad is not going to replace the PC, it’s not going to replace the TV, it’s not going to replace magazines or comic books – it’s going to replace 90% of our interactions with ALL of them.  What I realized after using the iPad is how the laptop and desktop PC are really clunky devices for interacting with media.

The iPad is the first device that really integrates all types of media in a way that feels natural.  It doesn’t redefine how a user will interact with print media the way the internet did, but it consolidates all the different types of printed media into one user interface in a way that feels natural.  Maybe even supernatural.  Reading GQ felt similar to reading a normal issue, minus the ability to flip pages quickly.  Reading a comic book was the same.  Then I watched a movie, which was fantastic.  I streamed a television show through the Netflix app, then surfed the web.  I played a game, then surfed the web some more.

Do I need an iPad to do all this?  No.  I have a tv, Netflix can send me a DVD, I can buy an issue of GQ or Iron Man and I can watch or read all of them from my bed.  What I can’t do without an iPad is BUY all of them from my bed, and interact with all of them on one device (except my iPhone, which alwasy felt too small for reading or watching movies.)  For the first time, my iPhone didn’t feel like my primary device for keeping up to date – it felt optional. Like, if I’m REALLY on the go, the iPhone keeps me connected to everything I need easily through all the same apps I run on the iPad.  But for most of what I do that isn’t work, the iPad feels like the proper device for it.

I don’t need a PC to surf the web, it’s just been my only option.  I don’t need a TV to watch shows, nor is a large laptop the best second option, but until the iPad it’s been my ONLY real second option.  The iPad is a revolutionary device that we won’t fully experience for months as app developers catch up with the new capabilities.  So for now, the iPad is a cool thing to have for early adopters, Apple gadget lovers, app developers, and people who like to digest a wide variety of media without the need for a full size keyboard all the time.  If you are creating content, you still need a computer.  If you are interacting with media though, the iPad is really all you need.

Sorry netbooks, you’ve just been replaced.

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