Emergency department
grows to meet demand
By linda denicola
Staff Writer
FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP — Expan-sion, expansion, expansion. That is the course that CentraState Medical Center is on these days. This time, administrators of the West Main Street medical facility are expanding the emergency department from 17,500 to 32,000 square feet and adding 21 treatment areas for a total of 48.
According to Dr. Michael Jones, chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine, the hospital will maintain the capacity of the emergency department during the construction phase, which is expected to last 14 to 16 months.
"We will maintain our 15/30 guarantee that assures patients they will see a nurse within 15 minutes and a doctor or nurse practitioner within 30 minutes of their arrival" in the emergency room, Jones said.
He told participants at a ground breaking ceremony on July 16 that the number of people the hospital potentially serves increases by 5,000 a year.
"We’re not only increasing the size and capacity of the emergency department, but we’re adding other improvements to the department as well," he said. "Beds on the critical side of the department will increase from 16 to 26, while the number of beds on the non-urgent side will increase from 10 to 22. So, we’re providing additional care for patients who want to get in and out quickly."
Jones explained that most of the treatment areas will become private rooms, making the CentraState facility a unique emergency department.
"Our pediatric area, staffed by a board certified pediatrician, will increase from two to eight beds," he said.
The laboratory is also doubling in size and it will have a new state-of-the-art CT scan machine. The medical center is also tripling its capacity to respond to weapons of mass destruction emergencies, Jones said.
Chief Operating Officer Daniel Messina said everyone connected with the medical center is excited about the project.
"This is one of the busiest emergency departments in the state," he said. "We feel we have designed a high-tech emergency department that will bring with it a high touch and caring atmosphere. It is unique in that instead of curtained cubicles there will be private rooms and separate pediatric and psychiatric [areas], as well as a separate inpatient holding and observation section."
Messina noted that the pediatric area will be staffed by a pediatrician 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
As for design elements, the blue gray, teal and sand colors create a more calming environment, Messina said, He said the pediatric area will be decorated with sports themes and dinosaurs and the flooring all over will be staff-friendly rubber flooring.
The $10 million expansion project is the latest upgrade of a long-range system-wide growth plan.
Last month, CentraState Healthcare System announced a $35 million project to enlarge and improve its lifecare retirement community, Applewood Estates, Gully Road. The healthcare system also expanded radiation oncology services to include high-tech, stereotactic radiosurgery.
Earlier in the year, the hospital opened a Wound Treatment Center, new physician offices in Jackson, and launched a new mobile wellness van into the community.
In addition, the healthcare system opened eight new or renovated centers last year, including the Radiation Oncology Department in the new Medical Arts Building on the main campus.
According to John T. Gribbin, president and CEO of CentraState Healthcare System, the emergency department has experienced a tremendous increase in volume over the years.
"Our current facility was built to accommodate 36,000 visits each year. We now treat about 51,000 patients in the emergency department annually, making it the fifth busiest in the state," he said.