In This Case, ER Stands for Exceptional Renovation

A visit to an emergency room is never going to be a pleasant experience. But imagine an ER where you don’t have to wait forever before being seen or treated. Imagine an ER where you get a private, soundproof room, not just a bed behind a curtain or, worse yet, a bed out in a hallway. And imagine an ER where everything is pristine and all the equipment is state of the art.

That’s what Arcadia's  will be offering once the new five-story North Tower opens, currently scheduled for Sept. 27.

Cathi Kaliel, emergency services department nurse manager, and Debbi Cordano, director of the Methodist Hospital Foundation, recently provided Patch with an inside look at the new over $300-million tower and, wow, is it impressive.

A public tour is scheduled for Sept. 17, and taking the tour is highly recommended.

Our tour with Kaliel and Cordano began in the Hollfelder Emergency Care Center, or what is also being called simply the Center.

“It’s not just an emergency room,” Kaliel said. “It’s a big center.”

She said in 1976 when she first went to work in an emergency room–at Queen of the Valley Hospital in West Covina--it was just a room. “We had only six beds,” she said.

More Beds

The new Center at Methodist Hospital will have 44 beds: 26 plus another 18 in a supplemental area that would be available if needed.

The current ER has 30 beds, and that includes eight located in hallways. There will be no hallway beds in the new Center.

Asked if the additional beds will mean shorter wait times, Cathi  said, “That is what we are anticipating.”

Everything appears roomy and first class, including the waiting area and the nurses’ stations. The waiting area will have a 52-inch flat-screen TV plus a play area for kids.

The Center will also have four critical care suites where critical procedures, including life-saving surgery, can be performed if necessary.

Outside the Center are five new ambulance bays and three decontamination showers for patients and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel to use should they come in contact with dangerous chemicals or hazardous materials. There are four more heavy-duty showers in a decontamination room inside.

It seems Methodist has thought of every possible emergency.

Critical and Intensive Care

From the Center, we went upstairs. The second floor is for critical care and intensive care and also has a state-of-the art pharmacy department.  On the third, fourth and fifth floors are patient rooms. These are so nice you almost think a hospital stay wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

There are also a few “friends and family” suites that could rival a Ritz-Carlton suite.

It’s all pretty amazing.

Ground breaking for the new tower began in February 2008. The financing came mostly from FHA Insured Mortgage Revenue Bonds and transformational gifts, especially one given by Tom and Bea Hollfelder designated to the Hollfelder Emergency Care Center.

Private donations and fundraising continue to play a major role. This year’s annual black-tie event, Crystal Ball, will be held on Saturday, October 29, at the Pasadena Convention Center. All proceeds from the gala will benefit the Hollfelder Emergency Care Center.  Back by popular demand, Paul Anka will again be the primary entertainment. 

Methodist Hospital has been at its current 22-acre location since 1957 and has gone through several upgrades and renovations over the years.     

The Berger Tower was completed in 1998, and the North Tower is the latest  addition to Methodist Hospital. 

There are still a few more steps to complete before the opening and before the moving of patients from the East and West wings and the Berger Tower to the new tower can begin.

There are two North Tower practice days, or dress rehearsals, scheduled for August 18 and 31.

“On paper, we are ready to go,” Cathi said. “But first we have to make sure, in reality, everything works.” She said pretend patients will be used on the practice days.

Licensing and inspections are supposed to be completed September 12.

Then comes the opening, and after that the community of can legitimately boast that it has one of the finest hospitals anywhere.