Hospital to Create New Pediatric Emergency Dept.

Editor's Note: The following is a news release that was issued by Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton.

Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton is expanding its award winning emergency care by creating a state-of-the-art Pediatric Emergency Department.

 As one of the busiest Emergency Departments in the region, RWJ Hamilton cares for 8,000 pediatric patients a year. The new Pediatric Emergency Department at RWJ Hamilton will create more space in the hospital’s current Emergency Department, enhancing the service to all emergency patients and allowing RWJ Hamilton to provide a higher level of clinical care to children and families.

“Our new Pediatric Emergency Department answers an identified community need to support our families who require immediate access to pediatric emergency care,” said Skip Cimino, President and CEO of RWJ Hamilton.

The project, which will cost $5 million when completed in early fall, will add 10,000 square feet to the emergency department by incorporating an adjoining circular building. The new Pediatric Emergency Department will feature eight pediatric treatment rooms, designed with children and families in mind.

Outfitted with equipment that is sized for children, the new Pediatrics Emergency Department will be decorated in soft pastel colors and include family friendly accommodations like a play room, Internet access and space for parents to stay overnight with their children if necessary.

More importantly, the new Pediatrics ED will be staffed with specially-trained board-certified pediatricians and emergency physicians and partner with pediatricians in the community to care for patients, said Eileen Singer, chair of RWJ Hamilton’s Department of Emergency Services.

“This project expands on a continuum that demonstrates RWJ Hamilton’s commitment to women’s and children’s health, which already includes RWJ OB/GYN group and our maternal fetal medicine program,” added Cimino.                              

In addition to the new Pediatric Emergency Department, RWJ Hamilton will add eight dedicated adult fast track treatment rooms that will provide expedited service to ensure the most critical cases are provided prompt attention and care, Cimino said.

“Creating a Pediatric Emergency Department and the adult fast track treatment unit builds on RWJ Hamilton’s reputation for providing the best emergency care in the region,” Cimino added.

In 2011, RWJ Hamilton was ranked among the top 5 percent in the nation for emergency medicine, the second year in a row it received the distinction and one of only five hospitals in New Jersey to be included in the elite group by HealthGrades, the nation’s leading independent source of physician information and hospital outcomes.

The Emergency Department expansion has been designed so the 16 new treatment bays line the outer ring of the circular building with the nurses’ station in the center, said Singer.  Not only will nurses be able to monitor patients from the center station, plans also call for nurses’ stations between the rooms for more individualized care, Singer said.

The addition of the Pediatric Emergency Department is part of RWJ Hamilton’s plan for responsible growth and further strengthens the alliance and clinical integration with RWJ New Brunswick and other Robert Wood Johnson Healthcare System facilities.

“This new service enhances the clinical integration with BMS Children’s Hospital and Children’s Specialized Hospital in the RWJ Health System for those children who require a higher level of care,” said Lynne Cannon, chairperson of RWJ Hamilton’s Board of Directors.

Cannon said parents can rest assured that critical pediatric cases can be stabilized and treated at RWJ Hamilton before they are cared for in a pediatric hospital in the RWJ Health System, if necessary.

“Pediatric specialists are in high demand, so having direct access to that specialized level of care within our hospital system is a great asset to not only the hospital, but to our community, as well,” said Cannon.