Effects of a new hospital building on patient outcomes

Conference Year

January 2021

Abstract

In June 2019, the University of Vermont Medical Center opened the Miller building as part of an initiative to improve patient experiences by providing private rooms, hotel-like amenities, and family-centered features. However, it remains to be seen if this effort has had an effect on patient outcomes compared to those patients admitted to the older “legacy” buildings. Our objective was to identify any difference in mortality, readmission, and/or length of stay outcomes for adult medicine patients admitted to the Miller building compared to contemporaneous controls assigned to the legacy buildings. We analyzed all patients admitted to the Adult Hospital Medicine service, who are randomly assigned to either Miller or legacy buildings, from the Miller building’s opening to the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 and compared outcomes for patients matched by diagnosis. We found no significant differences between outcomes, indicating non-inferiority of the new hospital building.

Primary Faculty Mentor Name

Allen Repp

Secondary Mentor Name

Bradley Tompkins

Faculty/Staff Collaborators

Allen Repp, M.D., M.Sc. (Faculty Mentor), Bradley Tompkins, M.P.H., M.S (Analyst).

Status

Medical Students

Student College

Larner College of Medicine

Program/Major

Health Sciences

Primary Research Category

Health Sciences

Abstract only.

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Effects of a new hospital building on patient outcomes

In June 2019, the University of Vermont Medical Center opened the Miller building as part of an initiative to improve patient experiences by providing private rooms, hotel-like amenities, and family-centered features. However, it remains to be seen if this effort has had an effect on patient outcomes compared to those patients admitted to the older “legacy” buildings. Our objective was to identify any difference in mortality, readmission, and/or length of stay outcomes for adult medicine patients admitted to the Miller building compared to contemporaneous controls assigned to the legacy buildings. We analyzed all patients admitted to the Adult Hospital Medicine service, who are randomly assigned to either Miller or legacy buildings, from the Miller building’s opening to the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 and compared outcomes for patients matched by diagnosis. We found no significant differences between outcomes, indicating non-inferiority of the new hospital building.