Former Patient Finds New Building, “Just Amazing”
When Kenneth Collier got an invitation to an Open House at Cleveland Clinic’s new Sydell and Arnold Miller Family Pavilion, he didn’t hesitate: “I was feeling well, so I put it on our calendar.”
Only a month earlier, Mr. Collier had been at the Miller Family Heart & Vascular Institute on far more serious business: heart surgery. On August 4, 2008, he’d had aortic valve replacement, mitral valve repair, and a single-vessel coronary artery bypass, performed by A. Marc Gillinov, MD.
After recovery in intensive care and the hospital, he went home on August 10. By the time he got his invitation to the Open House, he was “walking two miles a day at a pace of 35 to 40 minutes.”
Having worked 42 years in construction industry, Mr. Collier took a keen interest in the new building during his visits to Cleveland Clinic. Now that it was complete, he wanted to have a look inside. So, it turns out, did 10,000 other greater Clevelanders from all walks of life.
“I’m glad we got there early,” says Mr. Collier, who with his wife, Martha, drove from their home in Bellevue, Ohio, 70 miles west of Cleveland. The Open House featured brass bands, wellness lectures, healthy refreshments and dancing.
Tour groups left the main lobby every several minutes.
“We spent about four hours, total,” says Mr. Collier. “I was amazed by everything I saw… the new operating rooms… the patient rooms… the cath labs…”
That night, Mr. Collier wrote an e-mail to Dr. Gillinov sharing his impression of the new building. “Wow,” he wrote. “What a facility!”
There was a lot to see. The Miller Pavilion is three times larger than the Heart & Vascular Institute’s previous space. It has 128 exam rooms, 79 procedure rooms, 155 physician offices, 16 operating rooms and 10 cath labs. The new hospital rooms have been built to embody “healing hospitality.” Each room is private, with a pull out bed for overnight visitors.
Patients and families who need a break can take the elevator to the Rooftop Plaza, and enjoy spectacular views of Lake Erie and downtown Cleveland. “That was beautiful,” says Mr. Collier. During the Open House, Mr. Collier and his wife slipped away to revisit the unit in the current hospital where he’d stayed after his operation. “We wanted to thank the nurses who cared for us,” he says.
Mr. Collier brought a recent patient’s perspective to everything he saw. “My wife would have liked the fold-out beds,” he says. “If we’d had those, she would have stayed overnight.” He appreciated the fact that the new hospital rooms are all private. “That would be important if you were very sick.” At same time, he was glad to have had a roommate from Scranton, Pennsylvania.
“We became such good friends that we’ve spoken several times since we got out of the hospital. He’s doing just great.”
So is Mr. Collier. “I feel wonderful, and just cut my own grass today, seven weeks after surgery.”
“It’s just amazing. I don’t know what you could have done better. I’m so glad we have Cleveland Clinic close to us.”
If you need more information, contact us , chat online with a nurse or call the Miller Family Heart & Vascular Institute Resource & Information Nurse at 216.445.9288 or toll-free at 866.289.6911. We would be happy to help you.