Health systems are investing millions of dollars to expand or redesign their emergency departments as admissions are projected to increase.
Increased demand for emergency medicine has prompted Pittsburgh-based Allegheny Health Network to plug $43 million into increasing the size and remodel the emergency department at its flagship Allegheny General Hospital. The project, expected to complete by late 2027, aims to maximize care efficiency for the 40,000 patients the ED sees annually.
Baltimore-based LifeBridge Health’s Carroll Hospital in Westminster, Md., which treats 47,000 patients in its ED each year, began a two-year, $9.5 million renovation project in April. In addition to rising capacity needs, another factor for expanding the department is increasing medical complexity.
Other hospitals broke ground on ED expansion projects a few years ago.
As part of a $50 million, five-year renovation project, Mount Sinai Health System’s South Nassau hospital opened an expanded ED in March. The Oceanside, N.Y.-based hospital’s ED is the size of a football field and can annually see 75,000 patients, according to the New York City-based health system.
An investment of $45 million helped Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Novant Health double the size of Mint Hill Medical Center’s ED in Charlotte, N.C. To accommodate annual increases in ED patient volumes, the medical center added 19 rooms and a hybrid procedural space for radiology and cardiology. The department now spans 44,000 square feet.
Rather than increasing ED footprint, some organizations are reconfiguring layouts to improve patient throughput. For example, Northern Arizona Healthcare said it is renovating the ED at its Flagstaff (Ariz.) Hospital as a “stop-gap measure” while it constructs a new hospital.
“Because of space limitations at the current hospital site, including structural limits, the inability to reduce the size of other departments, and the need to maintain the limited parking availability, we will not be able to add square footage to the ED during this project,” the system said in a May 15 news release. “Redesigning the patient flow is our only option to improve service.”
