| Grace Hospital recently unveiled an expanded and newly renovated Emergency Department that doubles its previous capacity and provides the community with 21 examination rooms, a dedicated x-ray suite and specialty treatment rooms designed to enhance patient care and convenience.
“This is an exciting time for us,” said Linda Smith, System Director of Emergency Services. “This renovation will enhance the comfort level of emergency patients and their families while at the same time increasing the functional capacity of the Emergency Department. As we continue to grow, we will be able to better serve the residents of our community and our goal is to reduce waiting times and streamline our processes so we may treat patients in a more efficient manner.”
The expanded facility provides a variety of features geared toward bringing greater privacy, convenience and comfort to patients and visitors alike.
The new emergency department provides separate entrances for walk-in and ambulance patients. This allows people with less severe emergencies to be triaged separately from patients with more traumatic injuries or illness. The newly renovated area also includes 10 general examination rooms, three trauma rooms, two cardiac rooms, two orthopedic rooms, two OB/GYN rooms, one eye, ears, nose and throat room along with one psychiatric room. The trauma and cardiac rooms provide patients with continuous monitoring of blood pressure, heart rate, heart beat pattern, respiration and blood oxygen levels.
The new emergency department also features state-of-the-art equipment and a spacious new waiting area for patients and visitors. The expansion doubles the size of the previous Emergency Department and is capable of serving 45,000 to 50,000 patients annually. Last year the Grace Emergency Department treated over 38,000 patients. The addition of a dedicated x-ray room will provide emergency department patients access to faster and more convenient diagnostic testing. While more extensive testing will still be performed in the radiology department, the closeness and proximity of the new x-ray room is significant.
“Patients will not have to leave our area for many routine x-rays,” said Smith. “This convenience is another significant benefit of our expanded facility.”
The new department includes 21 total beds and provides local residents with a level of Emergency Care not usually found in smaller communities.
“The Emergency Department physicians and nurses are excited about the addition and I know the citizens of Burke County will be pleased with our new facility,” said Jeff Roller, MD and Emergency Department Medical Director. To showcase the facility, an open house for the community was hosted by the hospital in mid-September with numerous employees, physicians and local community members in attendance. For more information on Blue Ridge HealthCare please visit our website at www.BlueRidgeHealth.org.
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