The William W. Backus Hospital Annual Report 2005
This is where our future begins.

Improving the Emergency Department

Darcy Abbott, RN, Clinical Director of the Emergency Department, and Nader Bahadory, DO, shown in a sample Emergency Department room.

Like hospitals across the country, The William W. Backus Hospital has seen unprecedented increases in its Emergency Department volume, with patient visits increasing 25 percent since 1994.

From less than 38,000 patient visits a decade ago, the Emergency Department now sees more than 49,000 visits annually, and that number is expected to continue to climb over the next decade. At the same time, as more patients are using the ED as their healthcare safety net, the acuity of their needs has increased and privacy has become an understandable expectation.

To address these issues, a major component of the BackusCare project is to significantly upgrade the Emergency Department. An internal and external needs assessment determined that the current ED and Convenient Care areas are not capable of handling our increased volume, and major facilities improvements are needed to provide more efficient care, reduce waiting times and increase convenience, comfort and privacy.

THE ED PROJECT WILL INCLUDE:

• 9,000 square feet of new space and additional renovated space, doubling the ED size.
• Increasing the number of treatment beds from 23 to 43, most of them private.
• An internal patient transport elevator.
• Improved traffic flow in and around the department, providing easier interaction between the acute Emergency Department environment and Convenient Care, and simplifying the movement of staff, patients, medical equipment and supplies.
• Increased patient privacy in the main Emergency Department, as well as for psychiatric patients.
• More comfortable, well-lighted waiting areas for the Emergency Department (including a children's play area) and Convenient Care.
• Additional trauma capacity for the most life-threatening situations; relocated trauma rooms and decontamination area.

Computer-generated renderings of the expansion to the Backus Hospital Emergency Department show detailed views of the expanded ambulance bays as well as the spacious and comfortable waiting areas.