Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center starts its new $13.6 million Emergency Department expansion on Thursday, Aug. 20. The new department will more than double the size of the current department and enables the hospital to meet the needs of growing north Palm Beach communities.
During the groundbreaking ceremony, the hospital also dedicated art sclupture at the front of the hospital, installed as part of the City of Palm Beach Gardens Art In Public Places Campaign.
The new Emergency Department continues a long tradition of leading-edge emergency medical services,
The ED expansion project will include:
• Renovation to the current 5,400 sq. ft. area, and the build-out of an additional
9,537 sq. ft., for a total of almost 15,000 sq. ft.
• 20 private exam rooms
• 4-bed fast track area to aid in the treatment of less critically ill patients
• 8 private rooms dedicated to chest pain patients
• A dedicated CT (computed tomography) scanner
In addition, the hospital will implement bedside triage and registration to reduce waiting times and increase patient comfort. To expedite diagnosis and treatment, the ED will also utilize an electronic medical record system and a digital picture communication system, which allows physicians to view films immediately on any web-enabled computer or cellular phone.
“The first hour of emergency intervention has been shown to have a critical impact on
the patient’s outcome,” said Scott McFarland, MD, Medical Director of the emergency department of PBGMC. “Our new department will provide streamlined efficiency that will allow us to offer rapid, quality care to our patients and will be a tremendous asset to the community.”