South Nassau Completes First Stage Of Emergency Room Expansion

South Nassau Communities Hospital has completed the first part of its post-Hurricane Sandy remodeling: a new 10-bed unit designed to reduce wait times in the hospitals' Emergency Department.

The expansion is set to open following a $4.5 million renovation, completing the first phase of a multi-year construction effort to expand a critical area of the hospital that serves 65,000 patients a year.

The newly renovated Emergency Department annex, which previously was used for storage, will help maintain emergency service to the community as other parts of the Oceanside hospital's Emergency Department are renovated and expanded.

"This is the first step in our plan to increase efficiency and enhance quality of care to effectively meet the needs of the communities we serve," said Richard J. Murphy, South Nassau’s president and CEO. "It will help patients who visit the ED have a more comfortable and less stressful experience."

The extension is designed to facilitate communication between patients, companions and emergency department staff, with the nurses and doctors’ station facing the semi-private treatment bays and open floor space between the bays and station to allow for clear lines of sight. The treatment bays are equipped with monitored beds, cardiac monitors, bedside laboratory testing capability and furnished with individual high-definition, flat-screen TVs. Additional features of the extension include a dedicated waiting area for families and loved ones, rest rooms and access to free Wi-Fi.

When the full expansion is completed, the 16,000-square-foot Emergency Department — which was built to accommodate 35,000 patients a year but is currently serving 65,000 patients annually — will nearly double in size to the size of a football field and have the capacity to see approximately 80,000 patients annually. Expansion plans call for a centralized nursing station for direct oversight of patient rooms; bedside triage; expanded trauma treatment areas with an adjoining radiology area; a decontamination room; dedicated observation area for behavioral health; and an enlarged waiting area.

Photo: South Nassau Communities Hospital