We recently completed design of the new Southeastern Regional Medical Center in Newnan, Georgia, for Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA). The new hospital, which includes 25 universal rooms for patients, extensive treatment and care facilities, and 61 guest rooms for patients and families, opened in September with fireworks and a grand celebration. It's the third major hospital we've designed for CTCA around the country, along with work at two other CTCA campuses.

One of my favorite aspects of this new facility is the drive leading up to the building. It's a wooded, hilly, winding approach with beautiful landscaping. Once patients arrive, they'll find gardens, outdoor terraces, swan and koi ponds, walkways, and a gazebo gracing the hospital grounds. Inside, there are elegant lobbies, comfortable lounges, and spacious patient rooms, along with many amenities and accommodations for families.

Patients quickly realize that along with this inviting environment, CTCA offers state-of-the-art treatment, technology, and care. All of the patient rooms, nursing stations, labs, infusion areas, surgical suites, and therapy areas are designed to be patient-centered and extremely efficient. Patients are rarely transported from room to room; the rooms are transformed around them as needed. Patients don't walk from one physician's office and care provider's station to another or wait in endless reception areas. Instead, each member of the care team comes to them.

If patients do need to visit a special area, such as radiation therapy or imaging, they find a welcoming space that reflects careful thought for patient needs, such as the beautiful "sky ceiling" in the MRI room.

For CTCA, this is all a part of Patient Empowered Care®—a mission and philosophy of care that respects the patient's health, comfort, and state of mind above all else. It begins when patients make their first phone call to CTCA, and every detail, including travel, is arranged. It continues when patients arrive and find that any CTCA staff member will quickly welcome them and help with luggage and directions. It is reflected in every detail of the hospital design and in every instance of care.

Having worked closely with CTCA for several years, I continue to be impressed with their dedication to Patient Empowered Care®. Everyone on staff is empowered to help patients with anything they need. It's an example that would translate well to any healthcare provider, and for that matter, to any business in general.