Joe Sylvia and his family were happy to hear the Backus Emergency Department was expanding. They just didn't plan to see so much of the renovation in progress — up close and personal.

But they're impressed by what they saw and they're in better health because of it.

Mr. Sylvia, owner of Sylvia Engineering, Welding and Equipment Repair in Norwich, went to the ED in late 2006 for burns associated with a chemical explosion in his garage. Less than seven months later, he and his wife, Stacy, rushed their 5-year-old son, Anthony, in for treatment of severe facial lacerations from a dog bite.

Father and son are now nearly fully recovered. But they experienced two very different settings: on the first visit there were no rooms available, so Mr. Sylvia was put on a stretcher in the hallway of the old ED, surrounded by construction. When they brought their son in, the new Edward and Mary Lord Emergency Care and Trauma Center was well on its way to completion, with its open, high-tech design, more space, private rooms and amenities such as televisions and phones.

Mr. Sylvia described the facility changes he saw as "going from a beat-up Datsun to a new Cadillac. It's very modern, efficient looking and well lit — they were pulling things off the wall that you didn't even know were there."

But what he really remembers is the stellar care he and his son received in both instances.

"Your staff in the ER is fantastic," Mr. Sylvia said. "They provided me with the best care I could have had, and they did it with compassion. And what really stood out when we brought Anthony was the level of care from the nurses to the attending doctor and everyone else. Even the guy sweeping the floor stopped to talk to Anthony, which made him smile."

Mr. Sylvia explained that the dog bite incident was a parent's worst nightmare, with a bloodied child who didn't know what to expect in the hospital.

"They made him feel like everything was going to be OK," he recalled. "When Anthony arrived, he was scared to death. They explained everything to him so he understood. That was the turning point. That first hour or two was what really made the difference. This is a credit to everyone who was in that ER that day."