St.
Clair Hospital Expands its Emergency Department
By Martin Schultz
On any given day,
the St. Clair Hospital Emergency Department (ED) typically sees
138 patients. Originally intended to accommodate around 110 to
117 patients each day (40,000 to 43,000 a year), the facility
has obviously reached the limit of its physical capacity.
So, it is not
surprising that the hospital administration decided to expand
its ED facility. “We have one of the busiest Emergency
departments in Southwestern Pennsylvania,” explains
Tom Ague, vice president of facilities planning. “With an
aging population that is likely to have an increased proportion
of emergencies, the volume of ED visits will continue to grow.”
While the present
ED is configured for 24 treatment rooms, the completion of the
expansion will provide the department with a total of 46
treatment rooms. “We’ll construct the expansion in two
phases,” says Ague. “The new unit will be completed in June
2008, and the existing department renovation will be ready for
occupancy in November 2008.”
At a total cost of
$13 to $14 million, the ED expansion will occupy 33,000 square
feet, all in a contiguous space on one floor. “Per year, we’ll
have capacity to treat some 80,000 patients in several
specialized units,” says Ague, “such as 30 acute adult
treatment rooms, six pediatric-equipped treatment rooms, three
behavioral and mental health treatment rooms, and six fast track
rooms for patients with minor illnesses and injuries.”
But even more than
the increased patient volume is the access to advanced medical
technology. This is intended to help ED doctors speed up
information access to perform faster diagnoses and treatment.
Thus, the new ED department will include the latest wireless
communication system for staff and for accessing electronic
medical records — when seconds count, this is a critical tool
for diagnosis.
The new ED will
also have the capability for an onsite CT scanner in addition to
its existing radiology capability. This will save time by
avoiding the need to move critically ill patients to scanners in
other parts of the hospital. Moreover, the ED has access to
online medical images – yet another time-saving capability.
The St. Clair ED
also is able to receive electrocardiographs transmitted
electronically from incoming ambulances, enabling doctors to
consider treatment options even before the patient
arrives.
“The new ED is
more advanced than would be found in a typical hospital
Emergency Department,” Ague
points out.
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