Quality Remains Priority in ED Expansion

EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT SATISFACTION IN TOP 10%
AS EXPANSION CONTINUES ON TRACK

COVINGTON - St. Tammany Parish Hospital’s Emergency Department expansion is well underway; scheduled for final completion in 2016, the project is a series of phases that enable the parish’s largest acute care medical center to renovate and expand without sacrificing capacity at any phase of the project.

This winter, the project crossed a major milestone, temporarily relocating the entrance.

All emergency visitors now enter next to the new ambulance entrance at the top of the ramp off 11^th Avenue. The former parking lot immediately outside the ED is closed, and all visitors park in the larger, more accessible lot across 11^th Avenue at Harrison Street.

The temporary entrance will be in use until early 2016, when the new, permanent entrance opens to reveal the new expanded ED, with pediatric and geriatric treatment areas.

In the meantime, the hospital expanded valet-parking service to better accommodate emergency visitors. Visitors who arrive at the new ED canopy can simply let the valet park for them in the ED lot across 11^th Avenue.

“It’s the same valet service we provide outside the main lobby, now available to emergency visitors as well,” said Randy Willett, STPH project manager.

Another recent notable change for hospital visitors: All non-emergency visitors must now use the main front-lobby entrance to enter the main hospital.

The emergency entrance changes represent one of many recently completed elements in the multiphase project. The ED now boasts 14 new patient exam rooms, including three large trauma rooms that focus on stroke and chest-pain patients.

The new trauma rooms provide enhanced privacy to patients and are always stocked with specialized medical supplies so doctors and nurses can treat patients with maximum speed and efficiency.

“Everything our trauma team needs is at their fingertips at all times,” said Teresa Krutzfeldt RN, director of critical care services. “We have to move especially fast with (trauma) patients, and we have everything in the new trauma areas that allows us to do that.”

The third main phase of the Emergency Department expansion will ramp up in coming weeks and will be in full swing through much of 2015. Work will focus on the new pediatric treatment area, permanent entrance and permanent waiting area, Willett said.

Work this winter will focus on leveling the construction site, with steel beams slated to go up in the spring, Willett said.

Providing the best medical care to patients remains a focus throughout construction. Patient-satisfaction scores were right near the 90th percentile for national benchmarks between January and September, Krutzfeldt said.

Still-rising scores reflect improvements in patient wait times and patient pain management.

“Our goal is to continue to improve, even during construction,” Krutzfeldt said.

A full-service acute care facility committed to providing world-class healthcare and the latest technology, St. Tammany Parish Hospital delivers today’s life-improving procedures with the utmost care to area residents with emphasis on wellness, preventive care and disease management close to home. STPH is a self-supporting not-for-profit community hospital; it receives no tax funding. STPH.org