Tuesday, August 15, 2017
First phase of expansion/renovation to improve patient experience and meet growing community need
Southeast Michigan’s most preferred Emergency Center is expanding to improve its patient and family accommodations and meet the growing need for emergency care. The new Emergency Center at Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, opening Aug. 31, features private rooms in a patient and family-centered environment that better supports Beaumont’s delivery of high-quality emergency care.
The four-phase, 125,000-square-foot, $120.8 million expansion and renovation project will be complete by the end of 2018. At that time, the Emergency Center will have 73 private adult rooms, 20 semi-private, 10 private behavioral health rooms and 16 private pediatric rooms. During the first phase of the renovation, portions of the former center will remain in use, but 53 new private adult beds will be available for patients. The renovation also includes four expansive trauma care bays and an area offering expedited care for patients with minor injuries and illnesses.
Fifty-four new, private medical observation rooms on the lower level of the center will allow caregivers to monitor, treat and test patients admitted to the Observation Unit. There is also a new rooftop medical helipad for direct, easy access to Oakland and Macomb counties’ only Level I adult trauma center and Level II pediatric trauma center.
Beaumont looked across the country for the best ideas in designing the center, also consulting with patient and family advisors on the new center and its accommodations.
“We wanted to provide a patient and family-centered environment with accommodations and amenities that better support the high-quality emergency care that consumers have come to expect from Beaumont,” said Rosanna Morris, president, Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak. “The Emergency Center is our front door and is often the first impression patients have of Beaumont. We want their stay in Emergency to be a positive experience.”
Amenities and accommodations in the new center
In the new center, private rooms with glass doors and walls provide quiet accommodations for patients and family members. The center’s “Beau to Go” café offers hot food and refreshments in a family lounge, keeping families closer to patients. Communication boards in patient rooms provide caregiver and plan of care information. Cellphone charging stations are among the amenities recommended by patient and family advisors.
There is natural lighting via skylights and comforting artwork for a healing environment. The entire center is designed to meet the needs of our patients, in particular our senior patients, including contrasting colors, easy-to-read signage, elevated toilets and grab bars.
Growing to meet community need
“When the expansion and renovation is fully complete, we will have doubled the size of the Emergency Center,” said Terry Kowalenko, M.D., chair, Emergency Medicine, Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak and Professor and Chairman, Department of Emergency Medicine, Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine. “Emergency patient volume at Beaumont, Royal Oak continues to grow. Since 2011, we have seen a nearly 12 percent increase in patient visits. We are expanding and renovating in phases so that we don’t disrupt care for our community. This means that some patients will continue to be served in the older, existing areas until our renovations are complete at the end of 2018.”
A future phase also includes a newly renovated pediatric emergency center with special accommodations and amenities for children and their families.
Technology and process improvements
Dr. Kowalenko added, “The new center is also designed to bring diagnostic testing closer to or at the bedside to enhance patient comfort and convenience, as well as safety and efficiency of care.”
MRI and CT imaging is located right inside the center and there will be more point-of-care testing available at bedside including portable X-rays, echocardiograms and Doppler ultrasounds to test for blood clots.
Other improved messaging technology allow caregivers to share vital patient information, such as test results, with each other and physician offices.
Beaumont’s construction and design partners in the project include: architect and engineer Harley Ellis Deveraux of Southfield; construction manager Barton Malow of Southfield; and design architect FreemanWhite of North Carolina.
Beaumont’s Royal Oak Emergency Center is among the highest volume centers in the country with 130,902 visits in 2016.
Beaumont Health also offers emergency services at its seven other hospitals in Southeast Michigan and at a freestanding emergency center in Canton.