Become More Efficient, Improve Care
Sebasticook Valley Health
Sometimes improving hospital care is less about the medical services provided and more about the patient’s
comfort—both physically and emotionally.
Sebasticook Valley Health (SVH) in Pittsfield has found that by improving the hospital’s physical space in a
number of ways, they improve the care they give, the work environment for employees and the financials.
“Here at SVH we put the patient at the center of all we do and are always looking for ways to improve the
experience of our care,” said Teresa (Terri) Vieira, the hospital president and CEO. “Through our patient
advisory groups, surveys and daily conversations, we strive to constantly advance and become more efficient.
Of course, we balance this with a firm commitment to compassionate and personalized service for those in our
care and their families.”
Some of those daily conversations take place directly at the bedside, when Vieira, the chief nursing officer and
the chief medical officer talk to patients to find out how their stay is going, said Michael D. Peterson, FACHE,
the critical access hospital’s chief operating officer. If there's a complaint, it often can be remedied on the spot.
But one of the things administrators were hearing, both in surveys and in person, was that the hospital’s 50-year-
old building’s limitations were affecting how comfortable patients were and how easily they got better.
“We always had the staff” to provide high-quality care, Peterson said, adding that “one of the key complaints
was noise at night.” Patient rooms surrounded a centralized nurses’ station where staff would need to gather.
The noise would radiate out to the patient rooms.
Having a noisy hospital is not just irritating, but can actually interfere with healing, said Tracy Bonney-Corson,
MSN, MBA-H, chief nursing officer.
“Lack of sleep impedes recovery and increases anxiety,” she said.
Two years ago, the hospital opened its new wing and replaced the single nurses’ station with four pods.
The hospital’s physical space“didn’t align with our
mission of treating people with dignity and respect.”
Sebasticook Valley Health
