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Jersey Shore Hospital prepares to open, show off addition
JERSEY SHORE PA- Jersey Shore Hospital officials are eager to show off their new two-story addition featuring an bigger emergency department, state-of-the-art radiology and an expanded patient care area.
"We think the community is going to be real happy with this," said Betsy Crossley, vice president of nursing.
The 45,000-square-foot structure, an addition to the main hospital, has been a work in progress for more than a year.
The public will have a chance to get its first glimpse inside the building during an open house next weekend.
"It's completely different from what our employees have been working out of," said hospital President and Chief Executive Officer Carey W. Plummer.
Plummer, Crossley and Ed Soul, director of radiology, gave the Sun-Gazette a sneak peek at the new facility this week.
Much of the first-floor of the building houses the emergency department just off the main lobby at the building's east end.
Plummer said the emergency room has seven treatment rooms for non-critical patients and two trauma patient rooms.
The department includes a nursing station, a triage room and separate entrances for walk-in patients and ambulance crews. |
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Ed Soul, director of radiology at Jersey Shore Hospital, talks about new state-of-the-art equipment. |
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"It's about twice the size of any room in the existing building," Plummer said. "It will allow for the best ER care and allow for privacy (for patients)."
Plummer said the new emergency department is much more efficient than the existing unit.
The radiology department next door, featuring the most recent technology, allows emergency patients quick access to X-rays or other radiology services.
Among the new equipment housed is a Computerized Tomography (CT) scanner.
"It will allow us to do cardiac patients which we haven't been able to do before," Soul said.
The radiology area also includes a diagnostic fluoroscope for detecting upper gastro-intestinal problems, a new MRI, nuclear medicine, and a women's imaging suite offering ultrasounds and mammographies.
"It saves patients from going to Williamsport," Soul said, referring to the mammograms.
The enhanced nuclear medicine capabilities through the use of a gamma camera will allow for higher resolutions and quicker results, Soul said.
Plummer said that Jersey Shore now has its own radiology personnel in place to further enhance diagnostic services.
"We now can have major diagnostics done right here at home," he said.
Three operating rooms, an endoscopy suite and a nine-bed same-day surgical unit also can be found on the first floor.
Crossley said the unit was designed to improve patient privacy.
"Before we just had curtains," she said.
The in-patient treatment area on the second floor is a 21-bed unit providing private rooms for most patients.
Crossly said it includes a separate four-bed critical care unit with a nursing station.
"In the old building, we actually had critical care on a separate floor," she said. "So, it's now more efficient for us."
Crossley explained that in times of need nurses from either area can work between units.
The department features a state-of-the art nurse call system and cardiac monitoring.
Overall, it is expected that the hospital will be able to increase the in-patient care load from 15 to 21, she said.
The new facility is connected to the existing hospital, which will continue to house various services, but is scheduled for renovation in about two years, according to Plummer.
A $15 million U.S. Department of Agriculture loan funded the project.
In addition, a $2.5 million capital campaign, launched to pay for building equipment, remains about $200,000 short of its goal.
Despite occasional snags in planning, design and other building problems, the project did not experience any cost over-runs, Plummer said.
He expects patients to be accepted in the new facility by July 30.
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