A new emrgency look at Winchester Hospital
Published on December 28th, 2005
WINCHESTER, MA - The staff, patients and supporters of Winchester Hospital received an early Christmas present last Tuesday afternoon, as a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to mark the opening of the first major phase of the Hospital's new, expanded Emergency Department.
Hospital President and CEO Dale Lodge, Chairman of Emergency Medicine, Dr. Greg Weisz, Director of Facilities Management & Real Estate, Robby Robertson, Director of Emergency Services, Kathy Schuler, RN, MS, I, BC and Emergency Department Assistant Nurse Manager Donna O'Brien, RN, CEN, joined together to officially open the new state-of-the-art facility, which began receiving patients this morning.
The ceremony marked completion of the first major milestone in the project, for which ground was broken in January, 2005.
Among the features of the new Emergency Department are separate areas for different patient populations.
On the acute (adult) side, there are 11 treatment rooms. All 11 are situated around a central reception area and nurses station, just inside the larger ambulance entrance.
Robby Robertson, Director of Facilities Management & Real Estate, noted that the set-up for the new treatment rooms had been "standardized" by the nurses themselves.
Early in the project, he said, a mockup was made and the nurses specified how the rooms should be laid out. He feels that's how it should be. "They work it every day," Robertson said.
A short distance away is the area designed specifically for pediatric patients; five treatment rooms with more "child friendly" colors and appropriately sized equipment, decorated ceiling tiles above the beds, and VHS/DVD players in each room (vs. TV only in the acute rooms).
The doors on the pediatric treatment rooms will look a little different as well; they'll have round portholes instead of the more common square windows. A skylight which runs the length of the corridor makes the area bright and less scary for children, too.
Above the acute side is a second floor shell. According to Robertson, no final decision has been made as yet for the use of that space. Below is a full basement which houses the Emergency Department mechanicals.
Siting the equipment there was aimed at keeping it below grade and out of sight, and also to minimize noise.
With the opening of the new facility last Wednesday morning, all but five of the Hospital's existing Emergency Department treatment rooms were closed, so that the next phase of construction could begin.
That will include creation of a new lobby and waiting area. The project is scheduled for completion during the summer of 2006.
Hospital President and CEO Dale Lodge thanked the donors who helped to make the new facility possible, and also thanked the staff for their support and patience during the process.
His sentiments were echoed by Chairman of Emergency Medicine Dr. Greg Weisz.
"I see the incredible team effort it took to make (this) happen; the conception, the planning, the funding, the design, building and finally preparation for moving in," Weisz said.
"And now that I see the finished product, or at least part of it, it’s very clear to me that the care that went into creating this beautiful new space was every bit as great as the caring that our (staff) puts in every single day in an effort to make the lives of our patients better."
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