GBMC’s New State-of-the-Art
Emergency Department
With Dedicated Adult & Pediatric Care
A sense of urgency always reconfirms an organization’s need to operate as a well-oiled machine. To Greater Baltimore Medical Center (GBMC), a healthcare facility on the move, nothing is more urgent than providing medical aid to patients in need. So while no one plans to need emergency care, it’s a relief to know that GBMC’s has built a progressive, state-of-the art facility designed to ensure that doctors and nurses can provide the patients with the best emergency aid possible.
After three years of strategic planning and 16 months of construction, Maryland’s newest Emergency Department (ED) opened at GBMC, offering patient care in a 27,000 square-foot facility with separate dedicated adult and pediatric emergency departments. “GBMC’s new Adult and Pediatric Emergency Department is well-positioned to provide emergency and inpatient care to Central Maryland’s rapidly growing population,” says Laurence M. Merlis, President and CEO of GBMC, noting patient capacity has increased by nearly 50 percent.
Arriving patients are greeted and guided to their destination, with service excellence as a top priority. An initial ‘Quick Look’’ evaluation by a nurse helps route adult and child patients to the appropriate medical area efficiently. The drive to provide customized care and expanded services designed to meet the growing needs of the community was led by John Wogan, MD, Chairman of Emergency Medicine, and Timothy Doran, MD, Chairman of Pediatrics.
The new adult ED features a total of 43 patient care rooms, including 20 adult patient care beds. The separate adult triage area serves as the “heart and hub” of the new ED, where patients with potentially serious conditions are assessed for additional care. An eight-bed Urgent Care Center is operational between 11 a.m. & 11 p.m. for less serious injuries and services such as sports physicals and flu shots. A seven-bed Rapid Diagnostic Unit allows patients to be observed while awaiting test results or admission, and two resuscitation rooms are designed to handle the most critical and life-threatening medical conditions.
GBMC has eliminated the need to debate over whether to take an ill child to the emergency department or a walk-in healthcare service. The hospital’s new Pediatric Emergency Department Services (a.k.a. P.E.D.S. @ GBMC) uses a “Continuum of Care” model combining observation, urgent and in-patient care services all on the same floor for improved efficiency, and a dedicated clinical staff allows the same nurses and physicians to follow children along their path of care. A board-certified pediatrician is on-site around-the-clock, caring for patients up to age 18 in one of five pediatric exam rooms. Each of eight in-patient pediatric rooms features a couch allowing a parent/guardian to spend the night in the same room as the child and sliding wood panels designed to keep medical equipment connections out of sight.
Historically, GBMC has provided emergency medical care to more than 10,000 children annually. “We’ve created a new model for pediatric care, consolidating most pediatric services into one unit. Children will not have to wait to be seen behind more complicated adult patients,” says Timothy Doran, MD, Chairman of Pediatrics. “Medical care for infants, children and adolescents in Greater Baltimore is about to be reborn.”
The pediatric ED was designed with kids in mind. The waiting area features a large, circular fiberoptic twinkling starlit ceiling to capture kids’ attention. Also available are interactive computer games designed by COSI Studio, a nationally renowned producer of content-based exhibits typically found in children’s museums. The games include a station for computerized finger-painting and one where children can create ‘stop-motion’ animated movies, called “Animation Station.” GBMC is the only hospital in the United States offering these activities.
• A laboratory substation and X-Ray rooms within the ED allowing for quicker access to test results and diagnostic films.
• Three negative pressure rooms, where patients with airborne contagious diseases are evaluated and treated while isolated from the general patient population.
• A decontamination room with exterior entrance, shower and separate water containment tank.
• Psychiatric treatment rooms where patients needing appropriate services are treated.
• A Sexual Assault Forensic Examination (SAFE) room where specially trained forensic nurses are available for victims of sexual assaults.
• Five dedicated emergency ambulance bays.
• Facilities specially designed for paramedics and EMS crews.
• Large (12 x 12) quiet patient examination rooms feature sliding glass doors and privacy curtains, televisions with remote control, telephones, several chairs and a coat hook.
• A bedside Patient Information System works in conjunction with a unit-wide patient monitoring system to track heart rhythms, blood pressure and oxygen saturations.
• Several large overhead plasma screens, strategically positioned throughout the ED, are controlled at a central command center, allowing clinicians to track patient status and progress.
GBMC’s new ED is designed for a more patient and family-focused care environment. “Patient flow has been dramatically improved with expanded space and new processes, and our nurse staffing model has been adapted to address volume changes and patient flow needs,” says Jody Porter, RN, BSN, MBA, CNOR, Vice President Nursing and Chief Nurse Executive.
Nearly double the size of the old ED, the new facility offers an open-air feeling, wide corridors, high ceilings, spacious waiting areas and contemporary furnishings. Functionally-driven hallways, which harbor similar patient groups, are conveniently located to the types of services related to their needs. Three (very private) physician/patient consultation rooms, totally enclosed patient treatment rooms, and segregated waiting and registration areas, are offered to respect the privacy of all who visit GBMC’s new Emergency Department. The waiting area includes such amenities as free computer & Internet access, free local telephone calls, a large supply of books and magazines and vending machines. A crew of more than 30 volunteers take shifts between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. to help patients, family members and friends with any needs while in the waiting room. Cameras, posted around the perimeter of the building, as well as selected locations within the facility, assure an atmosphere of safety via a closed-circuit monitoring system. A 24-hour security guard is also present to insure a peaceful environment. Two levels of dedicated parking are available directly across from the ED entrance, and expanded parking in a brand-new 1,070-space, six-level parking garage parallel to the ED will be available in March 2005. Complimentary valet parking continues as a service to GBMC patients, family members and visitors.
GBMC’s new ED is part of a $43 million capital project, for which ground was broken in February 2003. New construction is adding 90,000 square feet to the GBMC campus, with an additional 75,000 square feet being renovated.
Opening later this year are a brand-new Intensive Care Unit to ensure the highest level of medical care for the most critically ill patients; an expanded Operating Room with four new surgical suites and support areas for patients undergoing both in-patient and out-patient surgeries, an expanded Post-Anesthesia Care Unit, and various ancillary services.
The Adult Emergency Department
