$13.6 Million ER Expansion Opens Artfully
Wednesday, 19 August 2009

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
• 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.”

See 'StentTower', Our Art Sculpture
Wednesday, 19 August 2009

Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center dedicated a new art sculpture, "StentTower," in front of the hospital in August, 2009.

The sculpture was created as part of the City of Palm Beach Gardens's "Art in Public Places" campaign, a partnership between private development and public art. This particular sculpture and site were chosen by the City and created by artist Mark Fuller.

The base, as well as the column with hearts cut-through, are fabricated from laser-cut aluminum plate. The red and white blood cells are custom-fabricated fiberglass.

The design of this project began in May 2008. Fabrication began in January 2009.

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Words From Artist Mark Fuller

"StentTower is an abstract visual expression of red and white blood cells flowing through a heart stent in a blood vessel. As part of my research, I took behind-the-scenes tours of Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center. During these tours I explored blood cells under a microscope, various medical devices and equipment and reviewed a procedure of the insertion of a stent into a blood vessel.

I was impressed and awestruck with the technology and the fact that roughly 360 open-heart procedures are performed at the medical center each year. I was inspired by the intricate design of the almost microscopic stents as well as the shapes of both red and white blood cells, I began designing the sculpture with the intention of publicly celebrating the high-tech aspects of Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center by making these minute wonders larger than life.