Introducing Our New Emergency Care Center

December 27, 2018
Manatee Healthcare new emergency care center

The expanded facility at Manatee Memorial Hospital is double the size. Processes are in place to provide faster, more streamlined care as our community’s need for emergency services continues to grow.

A new addition measuring just under 33,000 square feet allowed the hospital to customize the space from the ground up and look at processes to support the best possible patient experience, says Emergency Department Director Jody Rain, RN, BSN, CEN. The teamwork and planning have been “remarkable,” so that emergency visits are as quick, comfortable and seamless as possible.

The new center will utilize a “fast-track” and “super-track” system based on patients’ individual needs. The space has 48 patient rooms divided into two different sections, one for lower acuity patients, with less critical conditions, and the other for patients who need more intensive medical treatment.

“It’s like two mini-ERs working under one roof,” Rain says. The goal is to get patients into a room and seen by a provider as quickly as possible. To support swift, comprehensive care, emergency personnel will have convenient access to imaging services, surgery, cardiac catheterization labs, and the hospital’s intensive care unit and medical/surgical units.

Other features include:

  • A welcoming, covered emergency public entrance
  • Geriatric-friendly accommodations, including flooring that is easier to navigate, and beds and exam tables that can be easily lowered, if needed
  • Color-coded pods to help people find their way around more easily
  • Special lighting to help with infection prevention
  • Smart TVs in patient rooms for educating and communicating with patients and their families
  • A fully implemented Alternatives to Opioids Program (ALTO) with community volunteers supporting the peer-to-peer recovery program
  • Dedicated Emergency Medical Services (EMS) covered drive access with three staging and support areas for emergency vehicles
  • Two resuscitation rooms and two negative pressure/contact isolation rooms (one of which is designed to facilitate a high containment patient)
  • Specially designed behavioral health suites to support essential care while protecting patients’ dignity, safety and privacy

There were more than 80,000 ED visits in 2017, and additional increases are projected for the future, Rain says. The opening of the new center comes just in time for the busiest season, which is typically between January and April.

Rain says that everybody has worked hard to create a facility designed with patients’ needs in mind. “It’s been a great project,” she says.

 

We've been recognized

2018-get-with-the-guidlines-award
2018-mission-lifeline-award
2019-ACCAS-award

Two of the most serious health issues that bring people to the emergency room are heart attack and stroke. Manatee Memorial Hospital was recognized in 2018 in both of these areas for providing quality emergency care when every second counts.

Our Stroke and Cerebrovascular Center has been recognized by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association with the Get With the Guidelines®-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award for 10 years in a row, and the Target: Stroke Elite Honor Roll for the second year. It also has received Advanced Primary Stroke Center Certification from The Joint Commission. To support the continued delivery of advanced care, a new biplane room is planned to open in January 2019 to offer a thrombectomy-capable center for stroke patients.

In recognition of its cardiac care, Manatee Memorial Hospital received the Mission: Lifeline® Gold Receiving Quality Achievement Award for the fourth year for implementing specific quality improvement measures outlined by the American Heart Association for the treatment of patients who suffer severe heart attacks. The hospital is an accredited Chest Pain Center with Primary PCI and Resuscitation from the American College of Cardiology and is accredited in Adult Transthoracic Echocardiography and Adult Transesophageal Echocardiography by the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission.