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VOLUME 14. NUMBER 2
OCTOBER. 1967
DURHAM. N.C.
NEW FACE ON THE CENTER SCENE
m
THE MAIN ENTRANCE BUILDING
The new $5 million Main Entrance Building is now a real
ity and with its completion, the Medical Center can boast
of a beautifully designed and elaborately equipped struct
ure. Let's take a brief look at what one can find on
each of the five floors of the new building.
The fifth floor houses the new Labor and Delivery Suite
with four delivery rooms and six labor rooms. Staff loun
ges and sleeping quarters are provided in the area im
mediately adjacent to the delivery suites. Pediatric and
Ob-Gyn laboratories are also located on the Fifth floor.
The first child born in the new delivery suite was de
livered by Dr. Bayard Carter, first professor and Chair
man of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at
Duke. Chosen by his colleagues to deliver the first baby
in the new facility. Dr. Carter officially opened the new
delivery suite. This was a well-earned honor climaxing
years of hard work which was started largely through his
insight and leadership as Chairman of the Department.
From the fifth floor, new mothers are taken by elevator
to the fourth floor where the obstetrical wards are locat
ed. Williams Ward, in the east wing, represents the new
OB ward with 22 beds and the newborn nursery area. Sims
Ward, on the west wing, has 22 beds for gynecological pa
tients. The new -Premature Nursery with a capacity for 18
infants, is located on the center corridor on the fourth
floor. Here infants will be given intensive care with
monitoring equipment soon to be installed.
The third floor has two new psychiatric wards, now re
ferred to as Third East and Third West. A therapeutic
garden is located on a patio on this level where patients
can work with plants and relax in the sunshine.
The second floor of the new building is the new home
for the Department of Radiology, with departmental offices,
a labyrinth of passageways, and secondary corridors in the
areas containing sixteen new radiographic rooms utilizing
flouroscopy and image intensification. Also there is The
Robert J. Reeves Library, to be dedicated soon and named
in his honor as being the first Chairman of the Depart
ment, housing volumes of both historical and current
literature on radiology.
Moving down to the first floor, you cannot miss the
cheerful lobby area, the Pink Smock Gift Shop, the snack
bar and patio area, the new Business Office area, and the
new office of the Administrative Director. One of the new
features soon to open will be the Family Waiting Room, lo
cated opposite the patio on the first floor. Here, for
the first time at Duke Hospital there is a central assem
bling area for relatives of patients who are undergoing sur
gery or on the critical list. Comfortably furnished with
lounge chairs, it is staffed by a member of the Duke Women's
Auxiliary who serves complimentary coffee and cookies. The
room serves as a place for the family to rest and await any
news of their loved one, as a central contact point for the
physician to report the up-to-date condition of the patient,
and as a quiet place for the chaplains and hostesses who
are readily available to offer support when needed.
To the health care team, the room is a blessing. It has
moved the anxious relatives from the busy ward area and per
mits them to care for the patient, or prepare the patient's
room for his return. The names of these patients will be
maintained both by the main lobby information desk recep
tionist and the volunteer assigned as the FWR hostess. The
family members of these patients will be referred to the
main lobby desk and then directed to the waiting room.
The ground floor contains the Employee Health office, the
Student Health office, with registration offices, examining
and treatment rooms, a Medical Records Department extension,
and the ultra modern Emergency area. The E.R. has four op
erating rooms, a special fracture room, eight holding rooms
for keeping patients for overnight observation. Also, spe
cial facilities for emergency cardiac cases, a decontamina
tion shower. X-ray facilities, are available. For the com
fort of family and friends there is a large waiting room,
vending machines and a snack bar. The first "emergency"
patient to arrive on the scene was not to take advantage of
these advanced facilities, however. His only request was
for a tetanus vaccination.