Moffitt McKinley Hospital Celebrates 1st Anniversary
When Moffitt McKinley Hospital opened its doors on July 31, 2023, Vice President of Hospital Operations Christine Alvero arrived on-site at 4 a.m. to ensure the grand opening would run smoothly.
“Teams were in place, excitement was in the air, and the sense of pride was palpable as the first patients arrived,” Alvero said. “There were so many emotions on opening day as I wanted everything to be perfect and more importantly safe for the patients. The day before we opened nerves set in, even though I was 100% confident that everything was tested and in full working order.”
Before being named vice president, Alvero worked for four years leading the hospital operational readiness team as the senior director of Clinical Therapy Services and Clinical Operations liaison. Her pink hard hat with a blinged out Moffitt logo made her easy to spot among the construction teams. Now, after the planning, construction, equipment installations, staff trainings and the grand opening have come and gone, Alvero says the greatest achievement of the hospital’s inaugural year is the culture that has been created at the facility.
During construction, Christine Alvero in her pink hard hat and Liz Durrence were on-site frequently.
“Even though this hospital is comprised of several different departments and programs who report to many different leaders, we have created a sense of one Moffitt, one team,” Alvero shared. “The groups truly care about one another and take time to think about the impact that their departments have on others. When a group wants to make a change, they engage others outside of their area to ensure details have been thought through regarding downstream impacts, and everyone works together to get it right.”
There have been endless comments about how beautiful the facility is, how it feels like a hotel and how spacious the rooms are. However, the comments that echo the loudest are those about the team members in the building.
“Many patients have expressed their gratitude for the personalized attention and genuine concern shown by the team, which helps them feel comfortable and well cared for during their time in our hospital,” Alvero said. “They mention how they are greeted and escorted by smiling and comforting people, how friendly the team members are who clean their rooms, how the clinical teams provide compassionate care and treat them as a family member and how lucky they are to have such skilled surgeons involved in their care.”
Overcoming Challenges
Like with any new construction, most of the major challenges faced during the first year surrounded the building itself.
“It’s like moving into a new home and many things you just don’t know are problems until someone lives in it,” Alvero said.
The Facilities team had to address plumbing and cooling issues, and the Environmental Services team performed more terminal cleans in the first few months than they typically would handle in a year.
“These were not easy fixes, but the teams remained steadfast in getting everything addressed quickly and in a manner that did not impact patients,” Alvero added. “Every team made these adjustments without complaint, without any impact to the patient experience and with dedication to providing excellent service.”
After the facility issues were addressed, the team refocused their efforts on suggestions received from team members, patients and families. Some of these included adding motion sensor door openers in certain areas, learning how to use window shades to provide the best views and room temperature, tweaking the patient populations on each floor and working to improve the in-room iPads.
Memorable Firsts
It was an exciting year of “firsts” for Moffitt McKinley Hospital, including the first surgery, first board member reception, first press conference, first time serving strawberry shortcake for Patient Experience Week, first ice cream truck for Hospital and Research Week and first time hosting Moffitt’s Juneteenth celebration.
Players and mascots from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tampa Bay Rowdies and Tampa Bay Lightning stopped by to bring a little joy to patients. During the holidays, patients were gifted blankets, pillows and special treats, while team members participated and donated an abundance of gifts for children in need.
Moffitt’s pet therapy volunteers were integrated into the new hospital and now a consistent group of dogs bring comfort and care to the patients, families and team members.
New Goals and Priorities
Plans are underway to open an additional MRI for outpatient appointments and an additional CT scan for biopsies in Interventional Radiology. Moffitt McKinley Hospital will begin offering lab draws for patients scheduled for outpatient imaging services to save them an appointment elsewhere.
“When I think back over our first full year, I am most proud when I look around and see the continued enthusiasm, smiles and comradery among team members that was felt on day one,” Alvero shared. “We are blessed here at Moffitt McKinley Hospital because we have created a family feel in a 498,000-square-foot home.”
BY THE NUMBERS:
- Patient Satisfaction: Inpatient satisfaction scores average 92.0, and surgery patient satisfaction measures 94.3. Both scores far exceed targets and show the true focus on patient experience and care.
- The facility opened with 80 staffed beds with 96 equipped and ready to use. Now, all 128 beds are available as needed.
- Approximately 1,000 team members work at the facility.
- Approximately 10,000 surgeries were performed in the first year.
- The hospital opened with two MRI scanners. A third machine is scheduled to open in September 2024.
- A third CT scanner to assist with biopsies in Interventional Radiology is due to open in December 2024.
