Cedar Park Regional Medical Center

Cedar Park Regional Medical Center

Written by Staff Monday, 07 January 2008

A close up of the hospital that’s close by

Covering ground

The landscaping at CPRMC includes 7,335 individual trees, shrubs and groundcover. Many of the original oak trees on the property were conserved.

The O2 in the OR

The operating rooms have a special air exchange system whereby every particle of air in the room is completely exchanged 40 times per hour, far exceeding the hospital standard of 18 times per hour. Proper air exchange is necessary to prevent surgery-related infections.

The lab that’s close to heart

The cath lab is where cardiac catheterization procedures are performed. According to the American Heart Association, this procedure involves inserting a catheter into an artery or vein in the arm or leg. From there, it is advanced into the chambers of the heart or into the coronary arteries. The test can measure blood pressure within the heart and how much oxygen is in the blood. It can also be used to assess the pumping ability of the heart, to inject dye into the coronary arteries or to examine or treat congenital heart defects in infants and children.

The best help for breast health

Breast health is a specialty of CPRMC. The women’s imaging center is where mammography, digital mammography, biopsy, ultrasound and breast MRI procedures are performed. “The goal is when a woman comes in with a lump, she gets her lump checked out, she has her mammogram, she has her ultrasound, biopsy — she doesn’t leave here without a diagnosis,” said Jami Eggold, vice president of marketing and physician relations.

What’s your emergency?

The 18-bed emergency department at CPRMC is a Level III trauma center, which means it is able to provide prompt assessment, resuscitation, stabilization of injured patients and emergency operations. One or two physicians are on site in the CPRMC emergency room at all times.

A sight for sore eyes

CPRMC invested more than $350,000 in original and commissioned art by local and national artists. The 99 pieces of artwork, including the piece above, adorn the hallways of CPRMC.

Caffeine fix

Local franchisee Dave Siebold will bring It’s a Grind coffee house to the hospital. The coffee shop will serve all the same espresso drinks as the main location and carry limited food products to complement the items served in the restaurant. It’s a Grind is finalizing the equipment and space layout and expects to begin serving customers within a month.

Crocs, crosses and carnations

The gift shop at Cedar Park Regional Medical Center is operated by local business owners Craig and Elizabeth Berry, who opened Collectible Caboose in the Railyard Shopping Center five years ago.

The CPRMC gift store features much of the same merchandise as the main store with some modifications to suit clientele. Examples of the merchandise include Crocs brand shoes specifically designed for medical professionals, magazines and books, baby gifts, flowers and religious-themed gifts. Favorites from their other store include Willow Tree angels, Tyler candles and Jim Shore merchandise.

Elizabeth and Craig Berry and the interior of the gift shop

Hospital staff

The hospital has a total of 204 employees:

• 85 nurses

• 44 ancillary clinical staff (therapy, radiology, cardiopulmonary, etc.)

• 75 administrative and support staff (accounting, housekeeping, medical records, etc.)

The dish on the café

The café at Cedar Park Regional Medical Center is run by chef Tim Kloft, who attended culinary school at Linn Benton Community College in Albany, Ore. with an emphasis on classic cooking techniques. He was the chef at Round Rock Medical Center for two years before transferring to Heart Hospital of Austin for two years.

“My focus has, for the past nine years, been to make food in a hospital just as good as if you went out to a restaurant,” Kloft said. “If you utilize the cooking techniques properly, you can create an amazing meal using some of the purchased products that you have to utilize. You just have to know how to season it, how to cook it and everything else will come into play.”

The café’s menu is planned in advance for a duration of five weeks and includes items such as chicken cordon bleu, chicken marsala and roast beef. The Christmas menu featured prime rib, scalloped potatoes, roasted asparagus, baby carrots with orange glaze and dried cranberries.

“You name it — I pretty much do it,” Kloft said.

Breakfast includes waffles, pancakes, French toast and croissantwiches with ham, bacon, sausage or turkey. There is also a yogurt bar that includes fresh fruit and granola.

“I make sure things are prepared in small batches. I make all my cooks taste everything because if you don’t taste everything, you’re never going to know what you’re producing. I just don’t want good or good enough; I want better or best. Those are my standards.”

The staff consists of 10 kitchen employees and two dieticians. Kloft hopes to add more as the café grows and more customers come in.

“My ultimate goal is to have people say: ‘Come to the restaurant because you’re going to get great food,’” Kloft said.

Hours of operation: Daily 7 - 9:30 a.m., 11 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

Left: Chef Tim Kloft

Top: Interior of the café at CPRMC

What’s going on upstairs?

The intensive care and progressive care units, along with 37 patient rooms, are located on the second floor. The third floor consists of the labor and delivery department and 19 patient rooms. The patient rooms have flat-screen LCD televisions and Tempur-Pedic mattresses on most beds.

Interesting facts

• CPRMC is a 280,000 sq. ft. facility — the size of six football fields.
• Hospital construction was completed in 17 months from groundbreaking to occupancy.
• The average monthly electric bill is already more than $70,000.
• CPRMC is the only hospital in Texas with TigrNet, an interactive television system with Internet access and e-mail capabilities that delivers entertainment, patient education, information and hospital services right to the bedside.
• The hospital uses a computerized energy management system including motion sensors in the public areas that turn lights off and on, motion sensors that control heating and cooling and parking lot lighting controlled by photoeyes.

Tenants of medical office space

• Austin Gastroenterology
• Austin Regional Clinic (OB/Gyn and Internal Medicine)
• Cedar Park Surgeons
• Cedar Park Women’s Center
• Lone Star Dermatology
• North Austin Pediatrics
• Texas Orthopedic

Physicians take occupancy in late January and early February. Additional specialties that will be available in 2008 include cardiology, cardiovascular, oncology and primary care.

Hospital firsts

• 12 emergency room patients on opening day; more than 1,000 in the first month
• Five surgeries performed in the first week
• More than 100 inpatient admissions in the first month
• More than 30 surgeries and cath lab procedures in the first month

Q&A with the CEO

Dr. David Klein came to Cedar Park from Denton, Texas, where he was the administrator of Presbyterian Hospital of Denton. He moved from the operating room to the management side of hospitals after 15 years as a general surgeon. He earned recognition as a Diplomat of American Board of Surgery, a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a Certified Physician Executive in the American College of Physician Executives.

What drew you to medicine?

My interest in working with people and also my interest in the sciences – I had a lot of role models early who were physicians and like having the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of people.

Where did you do your residency?

I was a general surgeon in an integrated program, so I was at several hospitals, but mainly at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center in Phoenix and the Carl T. Hayden VA Medical Center.

What is special about CPRMC?

I really believe there’s a culture we’re building here at Cedar Park Regional. It’s experienced healthcare professionals who want to be a part of this culture. We believe in providing fulfilling work that will allow our staff to make a difference in the lives of patients, co-workers, their family and their community as a whole. It’s a great place to work, and we’re glad to be here.

www.thoughtfulcare.com, 528-7000