Leading Edge Technology - from a medication dispensing robot to private patient rooms and new floors with full telemetry capabilities, Backus Hospital balances advancements in technology with patient needs.

Highlights 2006

Robot-Rx, one of the few robotic medication dispensing systems in Connecticut hospitals, improves efficiency and patient safety.

A new pharmacy with a robotic medication dispensing system.The latest cancer treatment technology. An entirely new patient floor.

These were all accomplishments of 2006, which could go down as one of the most technologically significant years in Backus Hospital's 113-year history. They are also part of Backus Hospital's $50-million expansion, the largest the hospital has ever undertaken.

The project — which began in July 2005 and is scheduled for completion in the summer of 2007— includes doubling the size of the Emergency Department, enhancing Same Day Surgery, offering new cancer treatment technology, renovating two entire floors and adding larger private rooms, a new pharmacy and a new medical library.

Technology milestones in 2006 include:

• A new Elekta linear accelerator with Image Guided Radiation Therapy technology was installed in the expanded Dr. Sultan Ahamed Radiation Therapy Center in July. Backus was the first hospital in New England to implement this technology, which allows clinicians to better pinpoint tumors while sparing healthy surrounding tissue.
• The new E-4 cardiology unit opened in May. The unit features mostly private rooms, a computerized telemetry system and a second nursing station that offers the ability to activate satellite special care areas due to shifting patient volume and clinical needs. A second inpatient unit with many of the same attributes, E-3, is scheduled for completion in December 2006.
• A new Medical Library, featuring more space, amenities and technology,opened in May.
• The first phase of the Emergency Department and Same Day Surgery expansion is scheduled for completion in November, with full completion in the summer of 2007.
• The development of a "redundant data center"by our Management Information Systems Department. Backus is one of the few hospitals nationwide that have reached this milestone. With the advent of computerized medical records, this allows access to our patients' records at an offsite location, in the event of a disaster or loss of computer access at the main hospital campus.