St. John’s to host open house of new emergency trauma center

This winter, the Ozarks community will get a glimpse of the inside of St. John’s Hospital’s new 150,000-square-foot emergency trauma center and outpatient diagnostic center. The new facility will open in late December or early January. Community open houses are planned throughout December.

LEVEL 1 TRAUMA SERVICES

St. John’s Hospital’s state-of-the-art emergency trauma center is the Ozarks’ only state-designated adult and pediatric emergency department offering Level 1 trauma services. The new facility will provide patient-centered care and services, with six critical care/trauma treatment rooms with full diagnostic services capability. The new facility has 47 treatment rooms, with 10 of those being designated for acute care/minor emergency care services.
“Our six critical-care rooms are fully equipped for the emergency nurses and doctors to provide the highest quality of care and quickly access any equipment needed,” says John Bonnard, CEN, assistant nursing director of St. John’s Emergency Trauma Center. Bonnard and other clinical staff were part of the multiple planning teams for the new facility.

AMBULANCE ENTRANCES

On the west exterior of the emergency trauma center, ambulance bays are covered. The emergency trauma center’s ambulance entrance also provides direct access to other services located in the hospital.
“Another major advantage with this new facility is that we’ll be able to accommodate more ambulances and they will flow in and out of the bays without delaying or disrupting other inbound or outbound ambulances,” says Bill Syler,
St. John’s vice president of facilities.

TWO-STORY PARKING DECK

In conjunction with the new outpatient diagnostic building, a two-story parking deck is being built adjacent to the new trauma center. This parking will provide convenient access to the new building’s outpatient diagnostic services, such as radiology and imaging services. St. John’s Hospital has planned additional building phases on the outpatient diagnostic building.
“It’s going to be a phenomenal emergency trauma center,” says Syler. “It will have direct and immediate access for critical patients through vertical integration of the facility and a patient-friendly atmosphere for those who are, in many cases, already in a stressful situation.”
Imaging services, the surgical intensive care unit and the cardiac care unit are located directly above the emergency trauma center. These floors are also connected to adjacent services in the hospital. The new building will also have four helipads located on the roof with direct elevator access to all of the clinical services.

ENHANCED BUSINESS OFFICE SERVICES

In addition to these clinical services, St. John’s Hospital will introduce enhanced business office services in the new facility. These include the Sisters’ of Mercy point-of-service program and financial counseling services, which offer a “time-of-service” approach, with trained professionals providing in-depth information and collection of co-pays to the emergency patients.
“St. John's is committed to providing our patients and their families with the high quality of care they have come to expect as well as financial assistance when it's needed. This gives patients a greater sense of independence and the understanding that St. John's will provide the services they need,” says Christy Dempsey, R.N., St. John’s vice president of emergency, trauma, burn and surgical services.