Jill Bloom
410-601-5025
[email protected]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 8, 1997
SINAI HOSPITAL OF BALTIMORE OPENS A NEW EMERGENCY CENTER AND REDEFINES THE DELIVERY OF EMERGENCY PATIENT CARE
Sinai Hospital of Baltimore is redefining emergency care with the opening of its new Emergency Center, ER-7, in the new Herman & Walter Samuelson Pavilion for Emergency Medicine.
The design of the facility, the approach to patient care, and the attention to minimizing the anxiety that patients and their families naturally bring to an emergency room are all novel features of the Emergency Center. The facility will open to patients on Tuesday, December 16.
The new facility is a 34,500 square foot, freestanding pavilion, located at the southeastern corner of Sinai's Northwest Baltimore campus. The Center will have a new entrance off Greenspring Avenue, just south of Northern Parkway. Work is under way to change the traffic pattern at Northern Parkway and Greenspring Avenue to allow traffic to turn left at that light. The project is expected to be completed in early January.
The name ER-7 denotes the seven distinct care centers that have been developed to better accommodate and treat patients. The seven care centers are the Fast Track Center for timely care of minor ailments; the Urgent Care Center for patients who need more care than is typically offered in Fast Track, but who are not critically ill; the Emergent Care Center for patients who are critically ill and need intensive care and individual monitoring; the Pediatric Care Center, the only 24-hour pediatrician dedicated emergency service for children in Northwest Baltimore; the Trauma Center, reflecting Sinai's designation by the State of Maryland as a Level II trauma center; the Chest Pain Evaluation Center, to diagnose and treat patients with chest pain and heart problems; and a new kind of unit, the Observation Center, for patients whose medical conditions require extended evaluation and/or treatment.
"We set out to create the best possible emergency care center based on the needs and concerns of our patients. ER-7 is that facility," said Warren A. Green, president and chief executive officer of Sinai Hospital. "We believe that this initiative will change the way emergency care is delivered, not only in Baltimore, but beyond."
The new Emergency Center is more than double the size of Sinai's current emergency facility. Valet service and assistance is available at the curbside entrance to the new Center. Upon entry, a patient is met by a nurse who takes the patient's name and asks basic questions about symptoms. The patient is then taken to the appropriate care center while the family is escorted to one of 22 private waiting areas.
"The design of the new center allows us to deliver patient care in a completely different way. Each of the seven care centers has a team dedicated to treating just those patients," said David L. Meyers, M.D., chief of Emergency Medicine at Sinai Hospital. "This approach assures that patients receive the most appropriate care in the most time-efficient manner."
Once patients arrive in the treatment area, complete registration and lab work are done at the bedside. The patient is cared for by a team consisting of a physician, nurses, technician and patient service representatives. Emergency staff are equipped with special cellular phones, accessible by the family and referring physicians at any time during a patient's stay.
Among the features that make ER-7 unique are the personalized services that will be offered to patients and families. The Center is devoted not only to meeting the clinical needs of the patient, but the emotional needs as well. Each private family waiting area is equipped with advanced communications systems that will allow families to easily access information about the patient's status from staff and patient service representatives, and entertainment centers that feature television programming, music and videos. Concierge service, to coordinate communication between family members and the professional staff, and to deal with nonmedical concerns, is available 24 -hours a day. From the private waiting areas, family members can remotely access the concierge by pressing a button to activate a videophone.
"Coming to an Emergency Center can be one of the most stressful experiences for both patients and their loved ones. ER-7 was designed not only to set new standards of patient service, satisfaction and care, but to reduce the anxiety and improve communication between families and Emergency Center staff," said Diane Johnson, R.N., M.B.A., vice president of Patient Care Services and chief nursing officer at Sinai Hospital.
The newest technology will also make diagnosis and treatment easier. Technical advancements include moveable overhead booms in trauma and emergent care areas that include all patient monitoring equipment and medical gases; computers in each room that allow for bedside registration; and imaging equipment that is available right in the Emergency Center, eliminating the need to transport patients elsewhere in the Hospital for diagnostic work-ups. Specialized imaging equipment includes a dedicated CT scanner, and a special x-ray unit that takes images by rotating around the patient, making the radiology experience less painful and more efficient.
ER-7 features a rooftop helipad to receive trauma and emergency patient transfers. A dedicated elevator transports patients directly from the helipad to the trauma area. Sinai is also a state-designated hazardous materials decontamination site. ER-7 has a separate entrance for patients exposed to hazardous materials to prevent additional contamination. A private entrance is also available for patients brought in with psychiatric conditions.
Last year, over 55,000 patients were treated at Sinai's emergency facility, and they were accompanied by nearly 150,000 family members, friends and visitors. The planning process for ER-7 involved many of these patients and community members in focus groups and other research projects.
The architect for ER-7 is Anshen & Allen. Architectural consultants for the project are Hord, Coplan, Macht, LLC, and the construction manager is Whiting-Turner Contracting Company. Leach Wallace & Associates are the mechanical and electrical engineers, and structural consulting is provided by Morabito Consultants. The interior designer is Griswold, Heckel & Kelly Associates.
The cost to build and equip ER-7 was $16 million. In addition to the 34,500 square feet of space that houses the new Emergency Center, there is an additional 18,000 square feet of space below ground that holds ER-7's mechanicals, and provides storage space.
ER-7 was made possible, in part, through a generous gift from the Herman & Walter Samuelson Foundation. The Foundation was established by Herman and Walter Samuelson, two brothers who were born and raised in Baltimore, and made their living in the real estate business. Funds from the foundation, established at the time of the brothers' death, are designated solely for religious, charitable and educational purposes.
The Emergency Center received overwhelming support from the Hospital's local community, elected officials and Baltimore City planning staff throughout the planning, design and construction of the project. Local state legislators sponsored a $900,000 bond bill that was passed unanimously and signed into law by the governor. Philanthropic support from community members, corporations and foundations, as part of Sinai's 2nd Century Capital Campaign, has also helped make the new Center possible. # # #
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