The Valley Hospital’s long-anticipated move from Ridgewood to Paramus will happen this Sunday, when a new state-of-the-art facility will open its doors and begin providing emergency and inpatient care on a sprawling 40-acre campus.
“This will become not just one of the premier hospitals in the state or the Northeast but in the United States and richly deserved,” Gov. Phil Murphy said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. “Increasingly families plant their flags in places with a high quality of life and at the top of that list is healthcare.”
New Jersey Family got an early look at the hospital last month during a media tour. All 370 rooms in the new hospital are single-patient rooms large enough to accommodate a family member spending the night on a pull-out sofa. Each private room (once again every patient room in the hospital will be private) has a modern, private bathroom and family area.
Each room is also equipped with a 75-inch television that takes up an entire wall that serves as not only a TV but a way for patients and families to communicate with doctors and nurses. Called a digital footwall, the large screen will display care team info, clinical info and patient schedules. Beyond watching TV, the large screens can also be used for telemedicine meetings, adjusting settings in each room (such as air conditioning) and ordering meals.
Another innovative feature of each private room is that their supply closet can be accessed from the outside the room so hospital staff can stock and access them without disturbing patients.
“Today marks the culmination of a vision Valley has long had to offer our community the most technologically advanced, beautifully designed and constructed, sustainable, patient-friendly facility,” Audrey Meyers, chief executive officer for Valley Health System, said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. “Today, Valley ensures its future as the healthcare system of choice for our region. It is a great privilege to cut this ribbon, knowing that all those who come through our doors for their care will be well served by Valley’s compassionate staff and this stunning facility for generations to come.”
The new hospital also has an expanded Emergency Department, larger operating rooms, park-like grounds and uses AI technology in each room. More specifically, Valley is using Inspiren’s AUGi platform, a technology developed to prevent patient falls using a hybrid sensor that observes patient behavior to predict bed and chair exits. If detected, the device sends alerts directly to the staff to warn them of a potential fall. Nurses can also have a “live view” to check on patients if an alert is sent and, to protect privacy, patients are depicted as stock figures on screen.
With learning from the pandemic, every patient room in the new hospital has been designed with the ability to quickly be converted into a critical care room if necessary with more oxygen and emergency outlets. The new hospital has also enhanced its Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) by moving from an open-bay area to single-patient rooms there as well. Each room is big enough to accommodate and be converted for newborn twins.
The new hospital’s ER Department will feature 80 private exam rooms, double the number of rooms in the Ridgewood hospital. Every ED room has a glass door with blinds for patient privacy and the ER also has a rapid decision unit (RDU) area.
The campus has plenty of outdoor green space. More than 30 percent of the new hospital campus is dedicated to green space. Even the hospital’s elevators have been upgraded to ensure that there will be separate elevators for visitors and other elevators used for staff, patients, food and supplies.
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