The Valley Hospital in Paramus Opened April 14, 2024!
On Sunday, April 14, 2024, The Valley Hospital moved from its home of 73 years in Ridgewood, New Jersey, to its new home in Paramus, New Jersey. A total of 195 patients were safely moved from Ridgewood to Paramus on this day. Nursing staff at all levels and from across all departments were involved in the planning and eventual move to Paramus.
Beginning at 7 a.m., patients admitted to the previous Ridgewood facility were individually transported by ambulance to the Paramus hospital, located only 2.5 miles away. Patients were transported by On Time Medical Transportation and accompanied by appropriate members of Valley’s medical staff.
Nurses were staffed at both locations, assisting in moving patients who were unable to be discharged, as well as welcoming patients onto the new units in Paramus.
To prepare for life in the new space, Valley staff participated in “Day in the Life” simulation days, hosted by CBRE, Valley’s transition partner for The Valley Hospital in Paramus. These simulations were scripted scenarios where actual staff and patient actors could assess workflows, equipment, technology, travel paths, building systems, and more before patients were in the facility. The goal was to identify, prioritize, and resolve issues before opening. The teams were then able to regroup and work out any kinks discovered.
In March, employees gathered with CBRE and On Time Ambulance to practice the move to The Valley Hospital in Paramus with a mock move event.
The mock move was a simulation event with actual staff and patient actors to assess the move-day travel paths, facility systems, technologies, and processes that were used on moving day.
The mock move began in Ridgewood and continued in Paramus as “patients” were transported to the new hospital.
The new 370-bed, state-of-the-art hospital was built with patients, their loved ones, and Valley staff in mind. Key features of the hospital include single-patient rooms for privacy and healing inclusive of a 75-inch footwall across from each bed to display key patient details and display entertainment options; single-patient rooms for neonate intensive care unit (NICU) patients; an expanded Emergency Department; an intraoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) suite; park-like grounds and green roofs; and the latest technology.
The hospital serves as the anchor of a 40-acre health and wellness campus that unites acute patient care with Valley’s wide range of outpatient services. Included on the comprehensive campus is Valley’s medical arts building, located at 140 East Ridgewood Avenue, and The Robert and Audrey Luckow Pavilion, which houses Valley-Mount Sinai Comprehensive Cancer Care, The George R. Jaqua Same Day Services Center, a full-service retail pharmacy, and more.