By DONNA KENNY KIRWAN

PAWTUCKET — Sometimes, the best prescription for the aging and careworn is a facelift, as was the case with the Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island’s emergency department.

On Tuesday morning, members of the media were invited to join a group of supporters, physicians, senior staff and board members for a first look at the hospital’s spacious new Emergency Department. Called a “hard hat tour” because construction work is still on-going, the visit provided a glimpse of the state-of-the-art facility that is designed to enhance efficiency, privacy and patient care.
Francis R. Dietz, president and chief operating officer of Memorial Hospital, noted that the hospital’s busy emergency department services some 32,000 patients annually.
He said that the $3.5 million upgrade was more than just a renovation. Rather, he called it “the beginning of a brand new ER” which emphasizes quick access, comfort and ease of care.
Dietz noted that the new facility is a far cry from the basement level “accident room” that served emergency patients back in 1964, when he first joined the hospital staff. In addition to offering bigger and better-equipped rooms, he said there is now high tech equipment and new initiatives that will create an emergency department that is nearly paperless.
Standing in a bright and airy waiting room, Dietz pointed out the reception area, a “family room” for consultations, and a children’s play area. He noted that the “triage area” where patients receive their initial medical evaluation, was formerly just a “small cubby hole off the corridor.”
Now, he said, two large rooms are dedicated to walk-in patients while two other “critical care” rooms are designed for those who arrive by ambulance. Of the waiting area, Dietz commented, “Hopefully, this room will never have any patients sitting in it.”
Dietz praised Dimeo Construction for its work on the project, and said the new emergency room is expected to be up and running by early next month. He said the $3.5 million emergency department upgrade was part of a $25 million construction bond project that Memorial Hospital has undertaken. The hospital built a new endoscopy laboratory and a rehabilitation center as well as renovated its floors.
Dietz said about $800,000 from the bond was put toward the emergency department, and the remainder of the money needed, approximately $2.4 million, will be obtained through fundraising.
Dietz noted that $1.8 million has already been raised, thanks to the strong support for the hospital throughout the Blackstone Valley community. “This is one of the most gratifying things I’ve gone through,” he stated.
Dr. Liudvikas Jagminas, the hospital’s chief of emergency medicine, said the emergency department will have a special communications center that will be the first in Rhode Island equipped to receive pre-hospital, real-time EKGs as they are administered by rescue workers in the field. “This will allow us to start therapy sooner when the patient arrives,” he said.
In addition, physicians and other emergency department staff will have instant digital access to laboratory results, X-rays, CT scans and other hospital-based tests, all on mobile wireless computers. “In all instances, but particularly in those that are critically time sensitive, like stroke and chest pain, this will enable us to diagnose and treat faster than ever before.”
In the treatment area, there are now floor-to-ceiling partitions instead of the curtains that were used to separate the rooms, allowing for more privacy. Two other treatment rooms are equipped with a special air flow system to accommodate patients who need to be isolated for contagious diseases, while several others are set aside for obstetrics and gynecological cases.
All of the treatment rooms are arranged in a horseshoe shape around a central monitoring station, allowing the medical staff to have good visibility. “We had a lot of input from our nurses and physicians,” said Jagminas, of the lay-out.
Adjacent to the waiting area is a new “fast track” room for patients with less severe medical issues. This area also features private treatment bays situated around a central monitoring station. “Everything is designed to improve function and flow and to provide care in a more private manner,” said Jagminas.