News Releases

New $79-Million Memorial Hermann Sugar Land Hospital Opens With Digital Technology In A Healing Environment

Houston, Texas, December 8, 2006 –The new Memorial Hermann Sugar Land Hospital at Highway 59 and the Grand Parkway employs the latest digital healthcare technology to treat the body while creating an environment that stimulates an attitude of healing.

“This new hospital gives us a wonderful opportunity to incorporate patient and family centered-care features that patients will enjoy while building in new technology and laying the groundwork for future advancements,” said Dale Flowers, chief executive officer of Memorial Hermann Sugar Land.

The five-story, 220,000-square-foot hospital provides top-quality care with 77 private patient rooms, including eight intensive care beds.

Technological innovations include an advanced electronic medical record system, paperless check-in using tablet PCs, remote patient monitoring via eICU, positive patient ID using arm-band scanning and case tracking in the operating room (OR) that enables physicians, staff and families to privately follow a patient’s surgical progress using large display screens in waiting rooms, ORs and pre-op/post-op areas.

Nurses and staff at Memorial Hermann Sugar Land will wear hands-free, wireless, Vocera communication devices that enable them to connect with each other instantly anywhere in the hospital.

The mental, spiritual and aesthetic aspects of healing are also emphasized in the architecture and through innovative patient care initiatives.

“We are striving to get away from the perception of hospitals as institutional and impersonal,” Flowers said. “We can provide high quality care in a soothing, attractive environment with some of the comforts of home. In many cases, we can give patients control over decisions, such as when and what they eat, what they wear and what music they listen to.”

For example, aromatherapy and massage will be available, as well as music, art and pet therapy.

Each patient floor features a meditation room and kitchen area. Patients and their families can view and access a healing garden with an attractive water feature from multiple locations including the chapel and the café. The chapel will include private consultation areas and stained-glass windows, and the roomy, contemporary café will offer a wide selection of food and nutrition items.

Tastefully decorated patient rooms include guest sleeping accommodations, flat-screen TVs, DVD players, desks and armoires. On the ground floor, visitors can relax in a family lounge with a play area or take care of business tasks in a resource center with wireless Internet connectivity.

Patient meals will be based on a room-service model. Instead of receiving standardized meals at set times, patients can pick up the phone any time to order from menus tailored to their dietary needs and restrictions. They can also order guest trays for family members.

Other highlights of the new hospital include a 16-bed emergency center with “fast track” beds and two observation rooms. Designated a Level IV trauma center, the emergency center will incorporate Memorial Hermann Life Flight staff.

The hospital’s large obstetrics and nursery program will include 13 labor/delivery/recovery/postpartum rooms with upgraded amenities. The nurseries will provide care for 15 babies needing Level I and Level II neonatal care.

For more information, contact Media Relations.