Come early Tuesday, the current emergency department at Newman Regional Health will be closed.
That’s the plan as hospital staffers plan to make the changeover to a new $15 million emergency department Monday night. Here’s CEO Bob Wright:
Construction started around 18 months ago. Facilities Director Harold Blits is ready for the changeover starting by mid-evening.
The new facility triples the size of the current emergency department and doubles the number of beds. It also serves as the hub of a new emergency complex with ExpressCare already up and running and two more components, the Clinical Decision or patient observation unit and a new cath lab holding area, coming online within the next two weeks. In addition, the ER was built to serve as the ground floor of the hospital’s new patient tower once administrators decide to take that step in the future.
Over the next two years or so, the current ER will be the site of the hospital’s physical therapy services as that department comes over from the Twelfth Avenue Professional Building at 12th and Chestnut.
