WENDY PIERRO/Acorn Newspapers OFF AND RUNNING- Tina Giannoni, physical therapy aide and certified nursing assistant, checks on patients Tuesday in the newly opened Simi Valley Hospital patient care tower. Tuesday was the first day staff and patients occupied the facility, which received final approval last week from the California Department of Health. As Yvonne Neumann was wheeled through the corridors of Simi Valley Hospital on Tuesday, she couldn't help asking the nurses the ageold arewethereyet-question.

"Are we in the new area yet?"

Almost, the nurses assured her.

When she arrived, the sight of her brandnew private room fulfilled the 75yearold's lofty expectations.

"This is so nice. It's comforting," Neumann said. "It's like little arms reaching out to you saying, 'We'll take care of you.'"

Neumann, who is at the hospital due to heart issues, was the very first patient welcomed into the hospital's new 128-room Patient Care Tower on Sycamore Avenue.

"It's rather fun because at my age there aren't many firsts anymore," she said. Neumann's entry into the four-story, $75-million tower came on the heels of Friday's announcement that the California Department of Public Health had given the hospital the green light to occupy the building.

WENDY PIERRO/Acorn Newspapers FIRST OF MANY- Simi Valley resident Yvonne Neumann enjoys the private room she was moved into Tuesday. Neumann, who is at the hospital being treated for heart ailments, was officially the first patient welcomed into the new tower. Darwin Remboldt, hospital president and CEO, was beaming as he rushed around the tower handling the day's many responsibilities.

"You can hardly imagine how the patients are already reacting. Their faces just break into a smile," Remboldt said. "We had one of the employees, when they saw the first patient come down, burst into tears because she had been here a long time and it was so overwhelming to her."

Hospital staff and about 65 patients were moved into the new facility starting Tuesday morning. Remboldt said things were going smoothly and they expected to have labor, MedSearch, telemetry and intensive care all transferred into the new tower by that night.

Lifelong Simi resident Lori Cruze has been on staff at the hospital for four years and bubbled with excitement as she took Neumann up to her new room.

"I am so excited and not only for us," said Cruze, 43. "I'm so thrilled for the patients. It's going to be such a big difference for their care."

Gedei Achakzai, a registered nurse working in the telemetry unit, agreed, saying the improved technology and welcoming environment will allow for better treatment and make her job easier.

"It's going to affect us because we are going to look forward to work, and the patients are going to get better care because we are happy to be here," the 27-year-old Simi resident said.

Achakzai added that she's witnessed many changes in the hospital during her nine years on staff and that she was excited to see the completion of the tower- a project that was more than five years in the making.

"It's such a relief it's finally here," she said. "It's nice to have been a part of it."

The 146,000-square-foot wing includes 52 medical and surgical beds, a 24-bed intensive care unit and 24 telemetry rooms.

The third floor is dedicated to women and children, with 28 private rooms and an eightbed neonatal intensive care unit in development. An additional eight spacious rooms are for labor, delivery and recovery patients, while two rooms- one of which was used for the first time on Tuesday- are reserved for women undergoing C-sections.

Walking through the hospital, moving from the old building to the new, is like night and day.

"It's walking from the 20th century to the 21st century," said radiation oncologist Dr. Victor Schweitzer, who has been on staff since the tower's groundbreaking.

Schweitzer said physicians will be happy to have extra space and increased intimacy with patients because of the private rooms.

The ground floor- to be completed in 2010- will be home to a cardiac cath lab and a gastroenterology program, and construction will soon begin on a new lobby, which is scheduled to take about 10 months to build.

Administrative director of nursing operations Joanne Bercier, on staff for four years, said the tower's appearance is more than just eye candy.

"They've created a very healing environment," she said, noting the warm paint colors and natural light. "I think it will increase the staff morale and the patients will feel better being in a beautiful environment."

In regard to the hospital's updated tools and systems, Bercier, 45, said that "having more stateoftheart equipment in any environment gives you the upper hand."

While the original building has served the area since 1965 and holds many fond memories, the staff couldn't be more excited about its demolition, which will probably occur in the coming week. Bercier said she has "not one ounce" of sadness about leaving the aged facility.

"Some of the nurses have had to work in cramped quarters so long," Remboldt said. "So we're going to get some sledge hammers, we're going to get some pizza, and we're going to have a demolition party."

Still, Remboldt admitted it is difficult not to feel nostalgic.

"There have been a lot of people helped, a lot of people born, a lot of healthcare that's gone on in that section," he said. "But it's kind of like having an old car. It's nostalgic, but you sure love the new one."

Remboldt said the significance of the new tower to the community is "almost incalculable."

"It isn't only about the bricks and mortar," he said. "It represents a great first opportunity for employees, families and visitors to have a whole new experience here."

Neumann, whose spunky personality was the talk of the hospital Tuesday, enjoyed her tower experience and thanked the nurses for making her move wonderful. But she had one request before settling into her new accommodations.

"Just make me better so I can get the hell out of here," she said.

The tower's nice, she laughed, but not that nice.