Published Wednesday, October 30, 2002
Herald Staff Writer
UPMC Horizon, Greenville, unveiled its bigger, brighter emergency department Tuesday -- the result of a $1.2 million renovation project.
Hospital staff and the public toured the new emergency room during an open house.
"We're really excited about this," said Dr. Jefferey Moldovan, medical director of emergency services. "This is a good thing for the community. The patients really needed this."
Renovations that doubled the size of the emergency department began in March and were completed two weeks ago, Moldovan said.
Increased comfort and privacy for patients are two of the biggest changes. Expanded work areas and new lighting make it a more pleasant work environment.
"The lighting is so much better here ... the whole design is much more modern. The physicians' and nurses' stations are vastly larger," Moldovan said.
New additions include two large trauma rooms for critically ill patients and 12 private treatment rooms. The emergency department previously had a bay with six beds separated by curtains.
"Everyone has their own private room," Moldovan said. "Privacy and comfort are important ... I think it enhances patient care ... the privacy is just phenomenal."
Every patient room is hooked up to a central monitoring system, which checks a patient's vital statistics, in the nurses' station. Not all rooms had monitoring before the renovations, Moldovan said.
Also at the nurses' station are computers that access filmless X-rays, which doctors in Pittsburgh also have access to, eliminating the need to copy X-rays. Moldovan said a doctor in Greenville can discuss an X-ray with a doctor in Pittsburgh while a patient is en route by helicopter. Ultrasounds, CAT scans and MRIs can be accessed in the same manner. Moldovan said the emergency room has used this technology for several months.
Ambulances now have a separate entrance, so critically ill or injured patients do not have to be wheeled past the waiting room. A helicopter is always parked outside the ambulance entrance for patients who need to be flown to Pittsburgh.
The waiting room also has been expanded and renovated, Moldovan said.
The emergency department now encompasses other areas it had not before, such as behavioral health, infectious diseases and decontamination.
Patients with a contagious disease, even something as simple as chicken pox, or patients with compromised immune systems can be placed in a private room with a special ventilation system and a separate bathroom.
The behavioral health room is a secure room near the ambulance entrance where physicians can conduct video conferences with staff at Western Psychiatric Hospital in Pittsburgh.