The old Emergency Department space is approximately 2,500 square feet plus the waiting room (450 square feet). The conversion will address several issues relating to patient comfort and staff efficiency.
Currently for outpatient surgery patients:
- Step One: The patient registers in the hospital lobby.
- Step Two: The patient is sent to the 4th floor where she/he is prepped for surgery in a medicalsurgical
bed. This ties up 8-10 beds that would otherwise be available for inpatient admission.
- Step Three: The patient is then transferred to the Surgery Department on the 1st floor for the needed procedure.
- Step Four: After recovery in PostOp near the Surgery Department, the patient is transported back to the 4th floor for final recovery, dress and prepped for discharge.
- Step Five: The patient is taken back to the 1st floor lobby for discharge.
The new Outpatient Surgery Center will minimize the steps above,as the patient can enter at the old ED entrance, register right there, be prepped within a few feet of the registration area, moved a few feet into the existing Surgery Department, recover in the existing PostOp area, dress and discharge all in the new Outpatient Surgery Center. The benefits for patient comfort and staff efficiency are an obvious – plus we recover the 810 medical-surgical beds on the 4th floor for inpatient use. From a hospital management standpoint, the recovery of 810 medical-surgical beds is important as we are seeing a 10 percent increase in inpatient admissions since the opening of the new Arthur and Sarah Ludwick Emergency Care Pavilion.