Editor's Corner
Refrigerators and Telephones
I once did clerical work alone, at night, for the University of Virginia
Medical Center's nursing division. I padded to and from the copying machine along d arkened hallways lit by intermittent fluorescent
lights.
The medical center has since been renovated and expanded, but I always thought the
twisting, nondescript corridors in the old place were a bit spooky.
Hospitals have always unnerved me. There's no good reason why, as I haven't spent much
time inside them as a patient. But from all reports — see the section on new
hospitals — they're getting better.
Recently I spent three nights at Montgomery Regional Hospital's state-of-the-art birthing
center. The amenities were better than some resorts. The center had been renovated and
expanded during my pregnancy: It now had its own entrance, whirlpools in every
labor-delivery-recovery room and chairs that fold into beds for weary dads.
That hospital and others I've seen —while visiting friends and family, during
outpatient surgery 14 years ago and during an educational tour sponsored by the Richmond
Academy of Medicine — were my frame of reference when I visited the new Carilion New
River Valley Medical Center earlier this year. The hospital was hosting a hard-hat tour
for journalists before its grand opening.
Some wings were more complete than others, but you could see that this new place was
going to be something else. The hospital — built on 112 acres off Interstate 81 at a
cost of $56 million — was designed to take advantage of one of the New River Valley's
greatest assets: its mountains. The facility looked as if it was mapped out, not by
architects, but by staff and patients: The place had logic to it, so even if you did get
lost, it would not be for long. Equipment was tucked into closets and there were views I
wish I had from my own windows.
Then-director Skip Lamb, who retired after giving birth to the new hospital, showed me
the small, shared kitchenettes in patient recovery wings, put there so family and friends
could prepare patients' favorite food during their stay.
There are more hospitals going up around Virginia, as well as renovations that will
bring new concepts to facilities across the state. Maybe hospital stays — never much
fun to begin with — will be a little less unnerving.
* * *
Soon after filing her report on telecommunications, writer Kathleen Phalen caught up
with me on the phone. "It's all changing," she said. Newspapers were reporting
that Sprint would be bought by MCI WorldCom, an alliance that would add Sprint's PCS
service — among other things — to MCI WorldCom's repertoire.
The buyer's guide — a telecommunications package that begins on Page 63 —
gives a snapshot of what's available now. Soon, however, Bell Atlantic and other local
carriers will get into the long-distance market. Low rates on wireless service and
different pricing methods will make it a viable alternative to land-line phones.
As our experts note, you can't wait for things to settle down before you start to shop.
Don't be discouraged, though: While it seems that today's buzzword is "merger,"
the real word of the day is "choice."
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