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If you weren’t among the crowds at the grand opening event for Sarasota Memorial’s new nine-story Courtyard Tower, here’s an overview. My biggest impression? So much sunlight. Granted all the rooms were empty (the top orthopedic floor began hosting patients on Monday), and so all the open doors let in the full light of the rooms’ generous windows (all able to withstand a category three hurricane, natch). Still, there was a brightness throughout that has to be considered a major plus for a hospital.

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Other things that stood out? Semi-private rooms—where two beds, separated by curtains, share a single bathroom—have separate doors for each side. Every bed has a computer next to it, so nurses can spend more time with patients by accessing and updating charts bedside. Each floor’s central, primary nurses’ station (there are also two supplemental stations at either side of the floor) is extremely open, centering on a large-screen electronic “whiteboard” computer station.

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The fourth, fifth and sixth floors—dedicated to childbirth, NICU and mother/baby care, respectively—also include some impressive, progressive, state-of-the-art features: The whirlpool birthing tubs have gotten a lot of attention; wireless fetal monitoring, allowing for free movement during labor, also deserves a shout-out. Also? The NICU’s nutrition prep area is called “the Milky Way Bar”—hee.

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