SMC emergency room gets remodel as part of construction project – KMAland

(Shenandoah) -- As a major construction project continues at Shenandoah Medical Center, officials are putting the finishing touches on the hospital's emergency department.

The new and expanded emergency room is expected to be fully operational by the end of this week. The improvement is part of phase two of the hospital's $22 million upgrade. The new ER includes five exam rooms, three trauma bays, a triage room, a specialty room for psychiatric patients, secure facilities and a new ambulance bay. Dr. Santosh Kumar is medical director for SMC's emergency department. He says with the added space comes several new services the department can offer.

"We have included quite a few new services which includes things for our surgery side, psychiatric and mental health services, better trauma beds, more trauma rooms and a physician-staffed ER 24/7, which is a huge accomplishment for us," said Kumar.

Kumar says the new ER was in the planning stages for quite some time.

"My guess that thousands of hours went into the planning for this," said Kumar. "We spent six or seven months where all we did was plan. We visited big ERs and small ERs at lots of hospitals. I personally went to Nebraska Medicine because they were doing renovations, and we wanted to learn what mistakes they made in planning or what they did which worked well for them."

The new department is near where the old ER was located on the west side of the hospital. ER staff has been in place using most of the remodeled space for the past couple months, as the finishing touches are being put on additional space. Kumar says his staff is delighted with the increased space and modern facility.

"It's like we were driving a Chevy and now we have a Cadillac," said Kumar. "You can just feel the excitement. We are all very, very excited. More than that, we are all from the community, so it's excitement for us in two ways; as a staff working here and as people in the community. This is huge for us."

Kumar says a hospital's emergency department must be equipped with the latest technology, because it's often where people are most nervous when they visit the hospital.

"Most healthy people's visit to the hospital is either for well-check or you come to the ER for some reason," said Kumar. "When you come to the ER, it's the most anxious part of the hospital. Either you or your family member is sick and they need help right away. That's when the ER makes a difference. It leaves an ever-lasting impact. If you have a good experience with the ER, it sticks with you for a long time."

Kumar says he hopes the community and surrounding area will take pride in having a state-of-the-art facility in their backyard.

"This is not just one person's dream," said Kumar. "This is the whole community, every staff that works with us and some staff who left, this is all their dream. It took a lot of effort from every one of us. I really thank our board for making this happen."

The completion of the new emergency department is part of phase two of the remodeling project at the hospital. Phase one included a new medical office building, clinic and front entryway, which was unveiled last December. The rest of phase two includes remodeling of the surgical center, which is expected to be completed this winter. A $20.35 million USDA loan is covering the cost of a majority of the project.

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SMC emergency room gets remodel as part of construction project - KMAland