Monday, November 24, 2014

GRMC Turns Attention to Renovating Emergency Department

Grinnell Regional Medical Center is seeking funds to update and upgrade its emergency department. More than 10,000 patient visits happen annually in this certified Level III/Area trauma center. Significant improvements are needed and planned for GRMC’s emergency services to continue to meet the needs of area residents and all who come to the emergency department for medical care.
A hospital’s emergency department is the front line for the community in times of crisis - from hazardous material spills, trauma, and life's everyday accidents.
            “For a medical center of our size, we see a higher than usual number of patients who have serious and involved medical needs in our ER,” says John Bambara, MD, GRMC emergency department medical director. “We’re close to the interstate and we are the only Level III trauma center within 35 miles. To get a higher level of trauma care, you have to go to Des Moines or Iowa City. Minutes matter in these situations.”
The proposed renovation to upgrade the emergency department will improve flow, efficiency, and privacy for patients. Plans include a new entrance and nursing station will be created. Upgrades in the emergency department will include monitors, beds, lighting, HVAC/automated controls, safety features, and upgrades in the cable.
Plans for the new emergency department design also include:
•           Two new trauma bays with sliding partition walls and doors to increase patient privacy. Current trauma bays only have curtains to provide any level of privacy. The sliding walls will allow the trauma bays to open and expand if more space is needed for a particular patient. New trauma bays will increase treatment capacity and flexibility by providing more room for medical staff and equipment.

•           A total of five exam rooms and a triage room, in addition to the two trauma bays. Currently, the GRMC emergency department has two exam rooms, a triage room, and two trauma bays. Two of the new exam rooms will be designated for gynecological care and ENT (ear/nose/throat) treatments, but would be suitable for most any emergency situation. Three general exam rooms are included in the design along with a triage room for basic and preliminary exams.
•           Creating a centrally located nurses’ station for greater access and monitoring capability along with a new call system.  
•           Creating a new decontamination suite to treat patients who have been exposed to hazardous materials. Plans are to locate this outside and adjacent to the emergency department within a new ambulance bay. Currently, GRMC has temporary shower stalls to use in the decontamination process.  This is not an ideal approach, especially during the winter. The proposed decontamination suite will be 270 square feet featuring two rooms with a shower and accessible directly from the ambulance bay. Treating patients outside of the hospital facility in a suite that has its own ventilation and drainage systems greatly reduces the risk of further exposure to others. Patients would be treated immediately in the decontamination suite and then brought into the emergency department when it is safe to do so. This new suite would be able to handle several patients at once. It will create greater patient comfort and a much more efficient manner of treating patients exposed to hazardous materials.
With an estimated 19,000 households relying on the GRMC emergency department, there must be a fully-functioning emergency department during the construction and renovation process. Included in the estimated $2.3 million needed for this project is the cost to create a temporary emergency department during this time.
GRMC leadership evaluated the possibility of continuing to operate emergency services in the existing area during construction and renovation. It was determined that temporarily moving the emergency department during this time would be the better approach and could help keep construction progress moving forward more smoothly. One of our second floor medical/surgical patient wings was decommissioned a few years ago and currently houses our pain clinic, rheumatology clinic,  and sleep lab. It is within steps of the radiology department, surgery, obstetrics, and the existing emergency department. GRMC will continue to use the existing ER ramp and has plans in place for redirecting patients to this temporary area when needed.

This emergency department project is part of a $7,500,000, three-year comprehensive campaign that the medical center is currently conducting. Volunteers and staff have just completed one year of this fund-raising effort. They have raised a total of $845,000 for the emergency department renovation and need to raise another $665,500 for this project.

For more information about making a gift to the Moving at the Speed of Life campaign, please contact Denise Lamphier, GRMC director of communications and development at 641-236-2589 or dlamphier@grmc.us.
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