Virginia Hospital Center Unveils New Unit Built with COVID-19 in Mind

Virginia Hospital Center (1701 N. George Mason Drive) has opened up a new suite of patient rooms, each a bit larger than the typical hospital rooms with some features designed with COVID-19 in mind.

“Virginia Hospital Center’s new 4th floor patient unit and nurses’ station opened in August, adding 21 more private rooms that are 30% larger than VHC’s standard rooms,” a spokesperson for the hospital said in a statement. “The interior design of the new unit continues the clean, modern aesthetic of the VHC campus creating a comforting space for patients and families.”

The hospital said that each room will have a bathroom and shower, with individual temperature controls, televisions, a sofa for families, a reclining chair and bench.

Perhaps the most important feature, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, is that each room can be converted to negative pressure, which lowers air pressure and requires any air leaving the room to pass through a filter.

“Each patient room also has the ability to convert to negative pressure — an important feature when treating patients with highly contagious conditions, such as COVID-19,” the hospital said. “Negative pressure traps and keeps potentially harmful air particles within the room by preventing internal air from leaving the space.”

The floor plan for the new unit also includes high-visibility nurses’ stations, along with private patient and family consultation rooms and a new lobby.

“Every aspect of the new unit was carefully designed with the needs of both patients and caregivers in mind,” the hospital said, “and to create a nurturing environment that is conducive to healing.”

Separately, Virginia Hospital Center is in the midst of a major expansion project.