Saint Francis wants to cut down waiting times with ER expansion

Reducing emergency room wait times and allowing patients to spend the majority of their visit with their families are the ultimate goals of Saint Francis Medical Center's plans to expand the Gene E. Huckstep Emergency Center and Level III Trauma Center.

About $12 million has been approved by the hospital's board of directors for the project, which is expected to take about two years to complete, said Marilyn Curtis, vice president of professional services.

"We're being very careful that we stay operational. A lot of thought has gone into this," Curtis said.

Once ground is broken, probably during summer of 2008, the work will be done in three phases, with one area being completely finished and usable before starting on another, so patients will continue to have access to emergency care without a decrease in the trauma center's functionality, Curtis said.

An official start date has yet to be set for the ground breaking.

"We want to make sure we get the layout right, we're still tweaking plans," Curtis said.

The new space will be nearly three times the size of the existing center and will include 26 private rooms, most of which will have direct bathroom access.

"The family is a unit; we're trying to keep them together as much as possible," Curtis said.

Families will be able to stay close to their loved ones during treatment in three waiting rooms. Patients will also be greeted by a triage nurse for preliminary assessment immediately upon arrival, she said.

Instead of having specialized rooms for certain procedures, carts will be used to transport specific equipment for the same treatments from room to room.

Currently, wait times at the emergency center are kept as close to under four hours as possible, Curtis said.

bdicosmo@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 245