Cleveland Clinic's Akron General Health System ushered in a new era of emergency care to Summit County when it broke ground on a $43 million emergency department last Friday, according to Crain's Cleveland Business.
After little less than a year spent as a minority investor, the Cleveland Clinic officially welcomed Akron General to its ranks this fall. The new partnership has enabled Akron to finally address the state of its current emergency department, a facility that sees about 56,000 patient visits annually in a space designed for just 30,000.
"It's not fair to the patients; it's not fair to the caregivers to continue to provide services in a facility that's not big enough," said Tim Stover, president and CEO of Akron General Health System.
Here are four statistics to know about Akron General's new emergency center, slated to open in fall of 2017.
1. The 60,000-square-foot emergency department will more than triple the size of the current emergency care space.
2. The department will be able to accommodate between 65,000 and 75,000 patient visits annually.
3. The facility will include four trauma rooms, an expanded behavioral health unit, a designated area for quarantining and treating highly contagious patients, a separate urgent care area and a specialized space to treat patients from the hospital's new Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner program.
4. The central triage will span eight rooms to expedite patient care.
"This [emergency department] will bring Summit County a network of emergency care that is as good as you can find," said Cleveland Clinic CEO Dr. Toby Cosgrove, according to Crain's.