New ICU designed to enhance critical care for patients and families
Soaring 10 stories into the South Bend skyline, the new Memorial Hospital Patient Tower is hard to miss. But you might be wondering: What’s happening inside?
The second floor of the tower is nearing completion, and that means an important milestone is coming up soon: moving the adult Intensive Care Unit into the tower from its temporary home on the third floor of the Memorial Leighton Heart and Vascular Center.
The ICU team will be preparing and training over the next several weeks so they are ready to welcome patients in the new 26-bed space in late October. The remaining floors of the inpatient tower are targeted to open in Spring 2027.
A new home to support exceptional care
As planning for the new Patient Tower began in 2020, Memorial brought together bedside caregivers from across the hospital to help design a space that would better serve patients, families and care teams for years to come.
Marie DeStefano, BSN, RN, Director of Patient Care Services, Emergency Care Center and ICU
“From the very beginning, we wanted the people providing care every day to have a voice in the design,” said Marie DeStefano, BSN, RN, Director of Patient Care Services for the Emergency Care Center and ICU. “Bedside staff from across the hospital shared what was important to them, what would help them care for patients, and what would improve the experience for families. Their input influenced everything from the overall design to the finishing touches, and they had a huge hand in creating this space.”
In the new ICU, patients and families will immediately notice larger and more welcoming rooms. A color palette inspired by nature will bring in soothing shades of blues and greens with furnishing accents in warm wood tone finishes. Consultation rooms will offer privacy for important conversations with physicians and care teams.
The rooms will be fitted with all-new technology for patient monitoring, including a new platform called hellocare.
“Hellocare is way we can keep our eyes on our patients all the time,” Marie said. It will support nurses in important patient safety protocols such as preventing falls by monitoring ambient vital signs like movement and position.
The new technology will enhance, not replace, the personal care patients receive. Instead, it will help caregivers spend more time responding to patient needs and supporting families.
Another example of how the new ICU is combining thoughtful design with advanced technology can be found in the state-of-the-art beds patients will use every day, according to Jessica Gnoth, MBA, BSN, RN, Manager of ICU/CCU Patient Care Services.
Jessica Gnoth, MBA, BSN, RN, Manager of ICU/CCU Patient Care Services
“They will assist with positioning and turning patients, help reduce pressure injuries and even integrate with our charting system to track repositioning,” Jessica said. “Those features may seem small, but they can make a big difference in patient comfort, safety and recovery.”
Caring for patients when they need us the most
The Intensive Care Unit serves patients facing some of the most serious and complex medical conditions. From severe illness and traumatic injuries to recovery after major surgery, ICU patients require around-the-clock monitoring and specialized care.
For Dr. Luke White, a pulmonary, critical care and internal medicine physician, caring for those patients means balancing advanced medicine with the simple, human needs that are essential to healing. While ICU patients require intensive monitoring and expert clinical care, they also benefit from rest, comfort and the support of family and friends.
Dr. Luke White, Beacon Medical Group Pulmonology and General Surgery
“Our new ICU will let us deliver medical care on a higher level,” Dr. White said. “But even more than that, our larger rooms, better access for families and expanded support systems will help us meet patients and families where they are, not as patients in a bed, but as people with lives outside the hospital we want to help them get back to.”
That patient-centered approach is a driving force behind the design of the new ICU, where every detail was thoughtfully considered to support healing, strengthen family connections and enhance the experience for those receiving care.
Looking ahead, Dr. White believes the new ICU represents more than a new space for patient care. It reflects Memorial’s long-term commitment to advancing critical care for the communities it serves.
“Beacon is the place we trust with our own families’ care,” Dr. White said. “The new Patient Tower and ICU will bring that superior level of care to even more people in the community. Even more importantly, it prepares us for a future in which critical care continues to evolve. Our goal isn’t simply to provide good care. It’s to provide cutting-edge, world-class care that transforms lives right here in Michiana.”
