A message from the President | CEO of Rome Health AnneMarie Czyz
Rome Health Grateful for Outpouring of Support for ICU
As President and CEO of Rome Health, I extend my heart felt gratitude to everyone who came together in support of using federal relief dollars for a new ICU for our community.
We extend our appreciation to Mayor Jacqueline Izzo for her proposal to allocate ARPA funds to Rome Health to transform the delivery of life-saving care for our community. Her vision to prioritize ARPA funds for the ICU breathed life into this project and made it feasible.
We are grateful to the Common Council for approving the $3 million allocation of ARPA funds to this project. We appreciate all the time that the Common Councilors invested as part of their due diligence to learn about the need for the new ICU and the positive impact it will have on our community.
Implementing the vision for the ICU requires a partnership of public funding and private philanthropy. The city’s commitment of $3 million to the new ICU provides our donors with the confidence to support the project.
We also extend our thanks to the many people who joined voices with us to emphasize the importance of this project and the urgency to coordinate it with our surgical services project. Our Rome Health colleagues, board members, community leaders, volunteers, patients, patient families and community members who care deeply about Rome took the time to learn about the project so they could advocate for the funding to support it.
The city’s investment will enable us to ensure local access to critical care services in a modern ICU that reflects the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. Whether it’s the aging of the population, a natural disaster or another emerging disease, we’ll be ready to respond in state-of-the-art facilities that reflect the compassion of our dedicated care team.
Rome Health is transforming community based healthcare to provide convenient access to the best care out there here. Thank you for partnering with Rome Health to ensure local access to critical care now and into the future.
Transforming the delivery of life saving care
At Rome Health, we are transforming community based healthcare to provide convenient access to the best care out there here in state-of the art facilities that reflect the quality of care we deliver.
Replacing our aging Intensive Care Unit is the next capital investment needed to ensure local access to critical care services for patients and their families. The new $6.6 million ICU will be designed to enhance the experience for patients and their families while supporting the care team in delivering advanced life-saving care.
The decision to reduce the number of beds from 11 to 9 was based upon utilization data. Between 2018 and 2023, the average daily census ranged from a low of 3.98 to a high of 6.14 during the COVID pandemic. During peak surges, there was only one day in each of 2020 and 2021 that the census exceeded the proposed 9 beds.
- Comfortable space in the patient rooms, including seating and a sleeper sofa, so families can participate in the patient’s healing journey. Family participation and education significantly improves patient outcomes.
- Private handicapped accessible restrooms in each patient room. The current ICU doesn’t have private restrooms.
- Specialty rooms to better address the unique needs of patients of size and critically ill patients with behavioral health disorders to enhance patient and staff safety.
- An advanced ventilation system for infection control to protect fragile patients from airborne contaminants.
- More natural daylight to create a comfortable healing environment that helps decrease the length of stay.
- Charting will occur at pods adjacent to the bedside to allow for closer connection with the patient.
