Located on the Loyola University Medical Center (Loyola) campus in Maywood, Ill., the Loyola Outpatient Center is not just a beautiful structure.  It is a modern medical facility where multidisciplinary specialists will collaborate and share expertise to provide the best treatment for patients. The Loyola Outpatient Center houses the most advanced technology and provides a serene calming atmosphere - where professionals come together to go beyond treating the disease. At Loyola, we also treat the human spirit.

The new state-of-the-art Loyola Outpatient Center is designed to provide "care the moment you walk in the door," said Elizabeth Frye, M.D., senior vice president and medical director, Ambulatory Services. That care consists of the very latest in traditional medical technology housed in a soothing environment that employs plants, trees and natural light to promote a feeling of well-being. This holistic approach to the patient-care environment can have real value when combined with traditional medical treatment, Frye said. There is a philosophy that bringing nature inside can have a calming effect on patients.  

In line with that philosophy, the Loyola Outpatient Center includes both indoor and outdoor healing gardens where patients and their families can walk, meditate and relax. The indoor winter garden consists of plants and trees enclosed by a nearly three-story glass atrium.  

The outdoor terraced healing garden with its winding pathways is located on the garden level just outside radiation oncology. Third and fourth floor rooms overlooking the garden provide a view that is a welcome respite from the usual buildings and parking lots.

But the healing is not left to nature alone. More than 400 physicians from 14 clinical departments will see patients in 166 exam rooms. The center is designed to accommodate up to 400,000 physician visits per year.

Much thought was given to the arrangement of the various departments in the new center. For the patients' convenience, physicians easily can work in multidisciplinary groups. For example, because of the connection between chronic pain and depression, neurology and neurosurgery and pain management share a floor with psychiatry and behavioral medicine. Likewise, musculoskeletal care (orthopaedics) will be next to radiology.

A quick tour of the center finds radiation and radiation oncology on the garden level, accessible through its own dedicated entrance for easy access and privacy. The first floor will house pediatrics, musculoskeletal care (orthopaedics), radiology, the winter garden atrium, the Jazzman's Café and the Rosin Optical Shop. Patients can use the way-finding kiosks, which are located at the entrances, to find their doctor and/or clinic. Loyola also is providing computers so patients can access health information.

The second floor features ambulatory surgery, surgery services and a Women's Health Center. Women's health includes obstetrics/gynecology and benign diseases of the breast. Diagnostic tests such as mammography, ultrasound, stereotactic and fine-needle aspiration are performed in this comfortable venue.

The third floor houses the Women's Pelvic Medicine Center, the first facility in the Chicago area to provide comprehensive services for the diagnosis and treatment of female pelvic disorders. Also on this floor are urology and urogynecology, which feature consultation and clinical services in renal transplantation, urodynamics, erectile dysfunction, stone disease, male infertility, pediatric urology, urinary prosthetics and incontinence. General internal and medical specialities offer primary care services including physical examinations, preventive care, disability assessment and diagnosis and treatment of disease for adolescent and adult patients.

On the fourth floor is pain management providing consultation, diagnosis and treatment over a wide spectrum of services to relieve chronic, intractable pain. Services include therapeutic nerve blocks, acupuncture, cryotherapy, impulsive augmentation techniques with implantable devices and home care for cancer patients. The fourth floor is also home to psychiatry and behavioral medicine, ophthalmology, neurology and neurosurgery and otolaryngology - head and neck surgery - offering adult and pediatric treatment for allergy, facial plastic surgery, head and neck oncology and swallowing disorders and much more.

Although many of the center's features are designed for patient comfort and convenience, designers looked for ways to improve physician/nurse interaction as well. Toward that goal, exam rooms were divided into 'pods' of four, grouped around a central workspace.

"It's a departure from the traditional 'offices down a hallway,' " Frye said. "By grouping the exam rooms around a central workspace, nurses are able to work in closer proximity to physicians and to anticipate their needs. That will improve patient care."

Whatever the reason for their visit, patients will find the environment at the Loyola Outpatient Center to be one of peace and healing. It's an environment that highlights the center's philosophy of treating the whole patient, Frye said.

"Successful traditional medicine always has treated more than the disease. That's why we're focusing not just on the body, but on the spirit - the psychological element. The new center has features that allow us to raise the bar on the patient's entire experience."

All of this makes the new Loyola Outpatient Center more than just a place for healing, Frye added. "It's a sign of the commitment that Loyola has to providing quality patient care."

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