HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The expanded Emergency Department (ED) at Hutchinson Regional Medical Center will be open for business to accept its first emergent care patients starting at 7 a.m. Thursday.
The long-awaited expansion more than doubles the size of the department from 6,000 square feet to 16,000 square feet, allowing for sufficient space to increase the ED from a ten-bed facility to 19 beds.
Included in the update is an expansion of the lobby area, as well as new space for ED personnel and a new entrance for the ambulance garage.
Other features of the ED expansion include two major trauma rooms, 13 private treatment rooms, four patient Fast-Track units, an updated diagnostic imaging suite and two private triage rooms. Also, the parking areas adjacent to the ED have been expanded and resurfaced, including additional landscaping.
More than 25,000 patients sought treatment in the ED during the past year, which is equal to the combined populations of Great Bend, Pratt and Lyons.
Kevin J. Miller, F.A.C.H.E., President and CEO of Hutchinson Regional Healthcare System, said in a news release that the opening signifies the successful completion of a year-long project, following a detailed study on how best to prepare for the future of emergent care.
“The healthcare professionals employed here, working in tandem with the Healthcare System’s governing board and Foundation Board of Directors, decided early on that a short-term fix was not an option and instead, sought a long-term solution,” Miller said.
“It was apparent that we had outgrown the space allotted for emergent care,” Miller continued. “An average of 68 patients arrive each day at Hutchinson Regional Medical Center seeking emergency treatments on a wide range of medical issues ranging from gall bladder attacks to heart related issues.”
Miller said one room has been set aside for treating sexual assault victims.
“This room is larger than an average treatment room and contains high tech equipment needed for treating these types of medical emergencies,” Miller said. “A Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner will be assigned to this room.”
Miller said the ambulance garage was modified from a drive-thru design to a back-in model with a dedicated entry.
“All patients will enter the facility in an enclosed area out of the elements. A trauma room adjacent to the ED entrance will provide speedier care to patients requiring immediate medical attention,” Miller said.
Miller went on to say that speed is an important factor in treating emergent care patients.
“It goes without saying that ‘speed’ may mean the difference between life and death when treating patients in an Emergency Department and, thanks to this expansion and the installation of high tech medical equipment, Hutchinson Regional Medical Center is prepared for whatever the future may bring,” Miller said.
Patients and emergency vehicles should enter the hospital campus off Waldron Street, where signage will direct visitors to the ED entrance.