![\"Kaiser](\"https:\/\/missiontimescourier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/cafe.jpg\")
<\/a>Fortunately, the issue was only temporary. The sound was from two large fans attached to the hospital\u2019s air vent system \u2014 a requirement of California\u2019s Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development for hospitals under construction \u2014 which will soon be uninstalled and removed on Nov. 20.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, Kaiser worked to minimize the noise from the temporary fans by repositioning them and adding insulation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat seems to have resolved the issue,\u201d said Tana Lorah, community and government relations manager for Kaiser Permanente. \u201cOnce we became aware that there was a community impact, there was an immediate response to try and mediate that.\u201d<\/p>\n Now the residents of Burgundy Street and surrounding areas will be able to rest easier \u2014 and they aren\u2019t the only ones. The fans that brought the noise in the first place are a final step in a years-long project to upgrade Zion\u2019s \u201cpatient experience\u201d by converting the hospital from shared, double bed rooms to single bed rooms and other upgrades.<\/p>\n The $400 million project to upgrade Zion was initiated in 2010 to coincide with construction of Kaiser\u2019s brand-new San Diego Medical Center.<\/p>\n \u201cWe would never want someone to think, \u2018Oh, we\u2019re at the nice one [the new hospital],\u2019\u201d said Kaiser Permanente San Diego media relations manager Jennifer Dailard. \u201cOf course the care is the same, but we wanted the patient experience to be mirrored in either medical center. The most outdated part of Zion was that people still had to share rooms.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to converting Zion\u2019s hospital rooms to single bed, the upgrade project also included adding solar panels to the roofs, installing electric vehicle charging stations to the garage, installing LED lighting throughout the hospital, re-landscaping the grounds with drought-tolerant plants, improving the signage in and around the hospital, interior painting, and some technology upgrades meant to improve the comfort for patients.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the new San Diego Medical Center, every room has a footboard where patients can do a number of things like order room service or look at informational and instructional wellness videos,\u201d Dailard said. \u201cZion added a similar technology only using tablets.\u201d<\/p>\n Other construction at Kaiser Zion included the Zion Caf\u00e9 on the first floor, new lobby areas where people can now wait comfortably and tap into WiFi, and an upgraded cafeteria as well. The hospital also created more clinical space by removing walls and reconfiguring modules.<\/p>\n The reconfiguration of Zion and the completion of the new hospital also allow Kaiser to assign different medical expertise to each, making them less crowded.<\/p>\n \u201cWe basically took one hospital and we split it in half,\u201d Dailard said. \u201cOne of the plans when we were able to open the San Diego Medical Center was not to have both hospitals have labor and delivery, or both hospitals have orthopedics. We actually house certain specialties in one hospital or the other, which is really a nice experience.\u201d<\/p>\n Pediatrics and labor and delivery are now performed at San Diego Medical Center and Zion is home to Kaiser\u2019s orthopedic center. Other clinical and medical specialties are still being worked out where they will be offered, Dailard said; however, both hospitals will offer emergency room services. And the hospital configurations may stay in flux, depending on demand.<\/p>\n \u201cWe always want to have room to grow,\u201d Dailard said. \u201cThere are still some areas of Zion that are not spoken for. We always build for a little wiggle room. For instance, our San Diego Medical Center, we have permits and plans to add a north tower if needed one day if our capacity grows.\u201d<\/p>\n