A project that promises to double space and improve the patient experience at St. Dominic’s Hospital is about 10 percent complete.
Construction is under way on a $35 million to $40 million expansion of the hospital’s Emergency Department.
A “construction celebration” was held recently to kick off the project’s fundraising efforts to announce they were entering the public phase.
“The (St. Dominic’s Health Services) Foundation is seeking to raise $10 million, which is approximately 25 percent of the total cost of the … expansion and renovation,” Director of Marketing Andy North said. “To date, about 75 percent of the fundraising goal has been achieved with contributions from generous donors in the community.”
The project will double the size of the emergency room (ER), as well as create separate drive-up entrances for ambulances and private vehicles. The work also will include expanding the waiting room for patients and families.
The expansion is needed to help St. Dominic’s accommodate an increased patient volume, as well as to improve patient flow and care.
“There are two main phases to the project. The first phase is to add an expansion of approximately 25,000 square feet onto the existing emergency department. This new addition will contain 20 patient rooms, an exam room (for minor issues), five behavioral health rooms, a more efficient pod-style layout, localized waiting areas and in-unit imaging services that are critical to rapid-response emergency care,” North said.
Once that work is completed, all emergency operations will transfer to the new area, and the second phase will begin. That phase will include completely renovating the existing emergency facilities to “match the flow and design of the just-completed new space,” North explained.
The second phase also will include adding 16 more patient rooms and an additional exam room.
The project is being built in a green space between the hospital and its parking garage on the Lake-land Drive campus.
Last week, pilings were being installed to support the expansion.
“The main impact has been external, as the construction has taken some of the existing parking for both private vehicles and ambulances,” North said. “Our local EMS providers have been great partners in this process.”
Some emergency traffic has been re-routed to less congested areas, with ambulances agreeing to park elsewhere on the campus after dropping off patients.
The hospital’s original chapel, as well as several old office buildings, have been removed. Also, the elevator for the parking garage was relocated to accommodate a new lane for emergency traffic.
“All of those items have been completed,” North said.
The work represents the first major renovation of the emergency room in years. Minor renovations were made in 1969 and 1984, followed by a larger renovation of existing space in 1991. In the late 1990s, additional square footage was added near the ER to increase treatment space, and in 2010, an eight-bed chest pain observation unit was added. In 2012, an ER “Express” was opened to increase patient capacity.
The ER is located at the northwest corner of the Lakeland campus and was designed in 1951.
The project is being funded in part through the Expanding Excellence in Emergency Care capital campaign.
The new construction is expected to wrap up in mid-2020. The second phase renovations are slated to conclude about a year later.
