Construction crews learn how they’re helping to build better lives

Dawn Tomaszewski got a little emotional while sharing the story of a loved one who suffered a stroke and was transported from another hospital to Yale New Haven Hospital for care.

Her family member arrived at YNHH’s Comprehensive Stroke Center unable to speak. Hours later he was “sitting up in bed, eating eggs,” said Tomaszewski, senior manager, Heart and Vascular Center (HVC) Procedural areas. “I walked into his room and he said, ‘Well that was something, huh?’”

Tomaszewski’s story was part of a recent HVC presentation for construction managers with Gilbane Building Co. Gilbane is involved in major HVC, Interventional Radiology and Emergency Department projects at the main Saint Raphael Campus and the support service project for the new Adams Neurosciences Center.

“We really appreciate everything you do, for our teams and our patients,” Tomaszewski told the group at the start of the presentation.

Projects recently completed and currently under way at the SRC are increasing the number of HVC Procedure labs used to support electrophysiology, cardiac catheterization, vascular surgery and neurovascular procedures. Other SRC projects are expanding the Emergency Department and Interventional Radiology.

Already, as a result of recent organizational investments, specialists are using advanced equipment in newly renovated HVC labs to diagnose and treat newborns through adults with a wide variety of conditions.

Some of these procedures are available at only a handful of hospitals nationwide. These include the invasive cardiopulmonary exercise test (iCPET) program, which examines heart, lung and other functions during exercise to pinpoint conditions that in many cases have previously been misdiagnosed. In February, Yale New Haven Health HVC physicians performed the first procedure in Connecticut using the EVOQUE system for a type of heart valve replacement.

The SRC project is also adding eight HVC prep and recovery areas to the existing 20, allowing YNHH to care for more patients with acute conditions. One of these recently opened areas illustrates the importance of ongoing collaboration among physicians, clinical staff and building teams during design and construction.

“Our staff love the new prep and recovery space because it has great flow,” Tomaszewski said. “In the clinical programs we support, seconds matter, which is why efficient flow is so important.”

The Adams Neurosciences Center will house state-of-the-art technology for diagnosing neurovascular conditions such as stroke. YNHH has one of just two Comprehensive Stroke Programs in Connecticut and routinely treats patients transported from other hospitals.

“The level of care we provide here is saving lives and giving these patients quality of life,” Tomaszewski told the group. “What you do matters, because the care we provide doesn’t happen everywhere.”

Her presentation included videos about advanced procedures, patient stories and images from equipment such as a new neurointerventional biplane angiography system. This system shows brain and spinal cord blood vessels and is used in many neurovascular procedures.

At the end of the presentation, Eric Mullins of Gilbane thanked Tomaszewski, saying, “it’s easy to lose sight of what we’re working toward when we’re in the thick of construction.”

Mullins, who lives in the area, said YNHH is where he and his family members go for care.

“For me, the work I do in any hospital is important, but I have a personal interest in making sure these labs are the best they can possibly be.”