Those trainings proved successful as staff at McLaren Greater Lansing never missed a beat when moving from a hospital some of them had worked at for many decades, into a brand-new space.
“I have worked at McLaren for 35 years. There have been many changes over the years. Definitely none as exciting as building a new hospital,” said Angela Tisdale, RN, at McLaren Greater Lansing. “The general orientation helped us prepare and I encouraged all my co-workers to help the day we moved in. It was so amazing to see everyone working together and having fun in the process.”
In fact, McLaren has put up some very impressive stats in the past year. McLaren’s staff have cared for more than 10,000 patients, performed more than 22,000 surgical procedures, welcomed more than 1,200 babies into the world, and celebrated with almost 300 radiation oncology patients as they “rang the bell” signaling the end of their cancer treatments and the next step in their journey to becoming cancer free.
“Since I had worked at the Greenlawn campus for 36 years, it was emotional for me to walk out of the doors one last time. I had the opportunity to work on move day and was the circulating RN for the first surgery performed at our new hospital, which happened around 4 p.m. on move day and that was unbelievable,” said Karen Little, surgical RN at McLaren Greater Lansing. “As simple as it sounds, my favorite part of the new hospital is the windows. Working in the OR we don't have the opportunity to look outside very often. The new hospital has many large windows and when we leave the OR we can see the bright sun, which is refreshing and sometimes needed. Many patients have also mentioned how they appreciate the windows and how beautiful the hospital is.”
The hospital has also won multiple awards for its innovative design and functionality. Engineering News-Record (ENR) Midwest has awarded McLaren Greater Lansing an Award of Merit in in its 2022 Best Projects competition, National Award of Merit in the Healthcare Facilities category from the Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA), and the third place award from U.S. Green Building Council of west Michigan.
While McLaren is celebrating their one-year anniversary milestone, there is still much on the horizon for the organization.
“We are currently working with MSU on a joint venture outpatient radiology center,” said Ray. “The space will include four MRI units, two general X-Ray units, one Fluoro X-Ray unit, three ultrasound units, one CT unit, one Bone Density, and one PETCT unit. The radiology space will have extended operating hours and be a great addition to our community.”