Now Open! New 3500 Observation Unit

Margo Girardi, MD

The Division of Hospital Medicine has recently opened the new 3500 observation unit in the Peter’s building under the care of the unit’s new medical director Dr. Margo Girardi.  This state of the art 24 bed unit will house medicine observation patients with anticipated length of stay of less than 24 hr.  It is currently open to 10 beds but will continue to expand throughout the upcoming year.  It is being run by Hospital Medicine physicians as well as Mid-Level Providers.  The most common diagnoses being cared for in this unit include low risk chest pain, syncope, asthma/COPD, community-acquired infections, diabetes complications, and post procedural observation.  However all medicine patient’s with observation admissions can be considered ideal candidate and utilize this space.

The goal of this unit is to provide expedient testing, protocol focused treatment, and personalized discharge planning in order to efficiently care for patients with anticipated short length of stay.  Our mission will also be to alleviate congestion in the ER and improve throughput throughout the hospital.  We anticipate improved patient satisfaction as they receive personal and efficient care from there observation treatment team, with the goal to get them back home safely and quickly avoiding unnecessary testing and increased healthcare costs.This unit is currently open 24 hrs 7 days a week and is actively seeking patients.