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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