SOCH Rolls Out First Phase of Emergency Department Expansion

The new emergency department at Southern Ocean Medical Center is being completed in two phases and the first phase is complete and now open for patients, hospital officials said this week. 

When phase two is completed in June 2013,  the new facility will more than triple the size of Southern Ocean’s former ED. Phase one included all new construction and phase two will include extensive renovations in the old ED space. Combined phases one and two grow the facility from 8,800 square feet to 29,000 square feet.  

 “Our new Emergency Department is the largest building project in the history of the Medical Center and emergency care for the Southern Ocean community is being raised to a new level,” president Joseph P. Coyle said in a prepared statement released this week. “Opening the first phase is very exciting with beautiful new space providing spacious rooms and improved comfort and services for our patients and their families.”

Phase one includes space designed just for behavioral health patients.  Children get their own area with a five-bed Martin Truex Jr. Pediatric Care Center staffed to provide top-quality care for pediatric emergencies and for children recovering from surgery, as well as routine medical issues. The new design when phase two is complete will feature a total of 42 large private bays.

Expanded triage and fast track areas will help doctors and nurses provide better care and better service. “This project is going to improve the ED experience for patients and family members as well as for the doctors and nurses who deliver care here,” said Adam Lazarus, M.D. chief of emergency medicine at Southern Ocean.