In an effort to improve the overall patient experience, Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital has redesigned and expanded its Emergency Center.
"This project was more than a facelift," said Mark Cesta, MD, medical director of the ER at Memorial Hermann Southwest. "We added capacity and amenities to make patients more comfortable, but more importantly we made considerable operational changes that enable us to decrease wait times while continuing to provide high-quality care."
The redesign and expansion also will help staff and affiliated physicians to better operate in the Emergency Center, and by extension enhance the care for patients, Cesta added.
An added feature to the Emergency Center was the creation of a four-bed unit where the least sick patients will be seen, treated and discharged. The unit will function much like a freestanding ER, but with on-site hospital resources that can be accessed quickly if needed.
Overall, the project has added patient beds, bringing the total ER bed count to 40 with plans to expand to 50. The new beds are housed in private patient rooms with telephones and bedside televisions. A radiology suite also was added to expedite care. Now, instead of transporting the patient to a different area of the hospital, basic radiology services are available in the ER.