WellSpan Good Samaritan adds behavioral health suite, new Fast Track rooms in emergency department expansion
WellSpan Good Samaritan Hospital today
officially opened its newly renovated emergency department, complete with a new
behavioral health care suite, new Fast Track exam rooms and a redesigned
registration and waiting room. The
project is designed to improve services to behavioral health patients, patients
who need quick attention for non-critical illnesses or injuries such as cuts or
earaches, and all patients as they are assessed for care in the emergency
department.
“The renovations help us to better
serve Lebanon County patients, by streamlining, expanding and focusing our
care,” said Harry Padilla, director of clinical services, nursing
administration, at WellSpan Good Samaritan Hospital.
Begun
in June, the $740,000 project was sparked by the need to add dedicated
behavioral health care rooms to the emergency department. The new suite
features four rooms, a quiet room, a nurses’ station and two bathrooms for the
growing number of behavioral health patients served by the emergency
department.
The
suite is locked, self-contained and offers a quieter care environment for
behavioral health patients, Padilla said. WellSpan Good Samaritan is adding six
registered nurses and six patient care technicians to staff the suite. WellSpan
Philhaven will provide training for the new staff.
The
addition of the dedicated suite at WellSpan Good Samaritan follows other
efforts to improve and expand emergency care for behavioral health patients
both at Good Samaritan and across the WellSpan system. WellSpan recently added a 10-room behavioral health suite to the
emergency department at WellSpan York Hospital and full-time behavioral health
clinicians at both WellSpan Good Samaritan Hospital and WellSpan Ephrata
Community Hospital.
The latest renovations to WellSpan
Good Samaritan’s emergency department also included the addition of four new
Fast Track rooms and the refurbishing of two Fast Track rooms, giving the
department a total of seven rooms. Fast Track, which treats up to 50 patients a
day, is designed for those who have less critical needs such as sprains, minor
cuts, sore throats or earaches.
The
renovations also included a redesign of the emergency department’s patient
registration and waiting area, to increase privacy for incoming patients and
streamline their registration process.
“We now have more capacity to see
these patients, to provide them with the care they need in a more efficient and
patient-centered environment,” Padilla said.
The original gift (pledge) was made in April,
2000 and was $500,000.
The Francis J. Dixon Foundation gave a
gift of $100,000 for the current expansion project. The Foundation also gave a
gift of $500,000 in April 2000 as part of a broader hospital expansion
project. That gift was dedicated to expanding the emergency department,
which was then named the Francis J. Dixon Foundation Emergency Department.
By the numbers:
=
$740,000: Project cost
=
4: Number of patient rooms in the new
behavioral health care suite
=
12: Number of staff added for
behavioral health care suite
=
4: Number of new Fast Track rooms
=
7: Total number of Fast Track rooms
About
WellSpan Health
WellSpan
Health is an integrated health system that serves the communities of central
Pennsylvania and northern Maryland. The organization is comprised of a
multispecialty medical group of more than 1,200 physicians and advanced
practice clinicians, a home care organization, six respected hospitals, more
than 15,000 employees, and 140 patient care locations. WellSpan is a
charitable, mission-driven organization, committed to exceptional care for all,
lifelong wellness and healthy communities.
