Saint Francis breaks ground on ER expansion

Ground was broken Wednesday on a project that will nearly triple the size of Saint Francis Medical Center's Gene E. Huckstep Emergency Center and Level III Trauma Center.

The hospital's goal is to better accommodate patients with urgent medical needs. The trauma center's square footage will go from 11,000 square feet to 30,000 square feet.

In talking about better accommodating patients, Barbara Thompson, vice president of marketing and public relations at Saint Francis, referred to the "golden hour," or the first hour after an accident. She said the first hour after an accident is critical to the outcome of the patient's health.

Being able to better accommodate patients includes more rooms and beds, a universal room and bed design that will meet the needs of any patient, closer proximity of family waiting areas to patients, enhanced patient access to a triage nurse and expanded X-ray capabilities.

Dana Hukel, manager of marketing and public relations at Saint Francis, said the expansion was needed because the trauma center was dealing with more patients. The increases occurred after the trauma center took on the status as a "trauma center," Hukel said. This designation obliges the hospital to receive patients with urgent medical needs. Before the designation, a patient would have to go to Memphis, Tenn., or St. Louis for urgent treatment. The trauma center serves patients from Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas.

Thompson said the completion date is set at 24 to 26 months. By next summer she expects the completion of the new extension to the current trauma center. By summer 2010, she expects the upgrades to the current facility to be completed.

Hukel said the expansion was needed because there will be another patient-volume increase when baby boomers begin experiencing more illnesses.

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