Re-envisioning emergency care
Mather Hospital is looking to redefine emergency care for our community. Our vision is to build an environment that maximizes patients’ privacy and caregiver support, increases process efficiencies and incorporates the best practices for patient and staff safety. Our new Emergency Department will:
- double the size of the current ED to better accommodate our patients who are older and who have more complex medical needs.
- provide individual private rooms with ample room for caregivers to accompany patients.
- use a split-flow design that has proven to accelerate the treatment and discharge of patients with lower-acuity conditions and speed hospital admissions for patients with higher-acuity conditions. Facilities using the split-flow operational model have significantly reduced patient waiting times, length of stay, and the number of patients who leave without being examined.
- include space for dedicated X-ray, ultrasound, and CT technology allowing testing to be done more efficiently.
- incorporate a thoughtful infectious disease readiness approach with negative pressure isolation rooms as well as rooms for staff to safely put on and remove personal protective equipment limiting exposure to airborne viruses.
- accommodate a discrete designated area for patients suffering from a mental health crisis.
- allow Mather ED to become the leader in age-friendly health care, which focuses on the 4 M’s: Mobility, Medication, Mentation, and What Matters Most to the Patient to increase quality of care, and a tailored approach to treatment based on the patient’s goals.
Today, Mather sees almost 40,000 visits annually, making this project essential to the care of the community.