LIJ to Open First Phase of New Emergency Department
June 26, 2007
| $34M Phyllis and William Mack Emergency Center to Double the Size of ER, Reduce Patient Waiting Time LIJ Medical Center today celebrated the completion of construction on the first phase of a $34 million renovation and expansion project that will double the size of the hospital’s Emergency Department (ED).
When fully completed in 2008, the 36,500-square-foot Mack Emergency Center will features 41 private exam rooms, including 23 for acute-care patients, eight “fast-track” rooms (patients with injuries and illnesses that are less severe), and 10 for pediatric and adult psychiatric patients. “At LIJ, we currently treat about 65,000 patients a year in a facility that was built to accommodate 40,000. Within the next five years, we expect 75,000 patients will be coming through our ED,” said Michael J. Dowling, president and chief executive officer of the North Shore-LIJ Health System. “This new facility will provide patients and their families with the utmost comfort and privacy, and go a long way toward reducing waiting times.” The new facility also offers patients and family members a new, more accessible parking lot next to the drop-off area, as well as a waiting area that has been expanded into a two-story, light-filled lobby with living room-style features. Of special note, a new decontamination area has been built directly off the ambulance dock to treat individuals who may be victims of a catastrophic event, such as a bioterrorism or chemical attack. The area includes shower stalls set-up for decontamination stations that drain into an independent reservoir. Thomas Kwiatkowski, MD, chairman of emergency medicine at LIJ, noted that the nature of emergency room care has changed dramatically in recent decades, with more and more people viewing the ED as their primary care provider, especially the rapidly growing immigrant communities across Queens and Nassau counties, the elderly and the uninsured. “Considering that about 40 percent of all hospital admissions come through the ED, this expansion will allow us to better meet the needs of the diverse communities served by LIJ in Queens and Nassau counties,” he said. Among those on hand to commemorate the new building and the important role of the Emergency Department was Mr. Joseph Watson, 67, of Fresh Meadows, Queens. Mr. Watson, who had worked in the ED in the 1990s, came in as a patient in 2004 after suffering a debilitating stroke. Mr. Watson, now fully recovered and healthy, shared his perspective on being an employee and a patient at the LIJ Emergency Department. The project would not have been possible without the Mack family, in whose honor the new facility is named. The Macks have been generous supporters of LIJ for decades. In fact, Mr. Mack’s father, H. Bert Mack, was one of the founding benefactors of LIJ in the late 1940s, prior to its opening in 1954. Media Contacts: Michelle Pinto/Terry Lynam (516) 465-2649/(516) 465-2640 |
