Nurses Help Shape New Neurological Facility (Podcast)

Construction is well underway on Cleveland Clinic's new 1 million-square-foot Neurological Institute, set to open in January 2027. A cornerstone of the building's development has been the systematic engagement of nurses, who have helped guide its high-tech design from the earliest planning stages.

Dedicated to the outpatient and inpatient care of disorders of the brain, spine and nerves, the highly anticipated facility on Main Campus embodies a deeply considered approach to both patient and caregiver experience, explains Andre Machado, MD, PhD, Chair of the Neurological Institute.

“This project began with a humancentric vision, and our nursing colleagues have been instrumental in giving a voice to the patient during the design process," he says. "As caregivers, we have a critical stake in our institute's dual mission: Provide the best possible care for our patients now while simultaneously developing the neurological care of tomorrow."

In the latest episode of Nurse Essentials, Dr. Machado and Kristen Vargo, DNP, RN, NE-BC, Director of Nursing for Neurological, Orthopedic and Rheumatology Nursing at Cleveland Clinic, discuss the architectural decisions that have helped define the state-of-the-art building, impacting everything from patient safety and comfort to caregiver workflow and well-being.

Click the podcast player above to listen to the episode now, or read on for a short, edited excerpt. Check out more Nurse Essentials episodes at my.clevelandclinic.org/podcasts/nurse-essentials or wherever you get your podcasts.

Podcast excerpt

Podcast host Carol Pehotsky, DNP, RN, NEA-BC: Kristen, you've been involved in this building design from the very outset. Talk to us about how you kept the nurse's voice at the table and brought other nurses into your [planning] discussions.

Vargo: We found it really important to incorporate our nursing voice into the architecture, as we knew it would be imperative to have a layout that enhanced the efficiency of the nurse and also promoted the safety of our patients. So, we [started by] scheduling round-table discussions with every single one of our nursing care teams — ambulatory, procedural, surgical, inpatient — to hear them say what mattered most.

There were several resounding themes that came out of those round tables, particularly on our inpatient units. Patient safety was one of the key concerns [shared by] nurses in our largest units. How are we going to keep our patients safe? How are we going to stay close to our patients while performing all the tasks we need to complete in one day?

One of the design decisions we made was to build "touchdown stations"...that give us a direct line of sight into every single patient's room. This allows nurses to do all their documentation while staying close enough to monitor the patient. We're looking at how we can enhance technology in this space, too...to improve our visualization of patients.