Oswego Hospital Breaks Ground On New Era In Healthcare For Community

OSWEGO, NY – Oswego Hospital has broken ground on what will be a vital transformation of healthcare in Oswego County.

Construction on the new Emergency Room at the hospital will provide additional space, but more importantly, will improve customer service by adding technology and shortening wait times.

“The Emergency Room is one of the busiest departments of any hospital,” said Emergency Room Clinical Manager David Ramsey, R.N. “Our goal with this project is to expand the facility and the services we provide, as well as make our patient’s experience as positive and supportive as possible.”

Over the past decade, Oswego Health, the parent organization of Oswego Hospital, has expanded services throughout the county with the development of the Seneca Hill Health Community, primary care sites in Parish, Mexico and Phoenix, lab draw stations throughout the county and the recent establishment of an Urgent Care Center in Fulton.

In addition to these services, during other recent construction projects, three other major areas of the hospital have been completely renovated with state-of-the-art facilities including the Surgery Center, Maternity Center, and Intensive Care Unit.

“In recent years we have invested $33.6 million to improve and expand health services to our community,” said Oswego Health President and CEO Ann Gilpin. “We’re very excited to break ground on this latest project that will completely renovate the new Emergency Room. The ER is where many of our patients may first enter the Oswego Health system. This project will address facility and service issues and be a model for the healthcare system of the future.”

The $18 million first floor project adds 3,800 square feet of space to the emergency room which will feature 16 private treatment rooms, (an addition of six rooms from the previous ER), new monitoring equipment, a central nurses station that allows staff to visually monitor patients and a much larger waiting area for patients and their families.

Plans also include enhanced privacy measures, heart monitors in all rooms and a new triage room to expedite care.

To assist those needing emergency services, Customer Care Representatives will give patients directions and as much information as possible as soon as they arrive.

“Healthcare is a very personal service and patients deserve special attention and care when they come through our doors,” Gilpin said. “We are listening to their needs and designing this new emergency department to better meet those needs.”

Oswego Hospital Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Nancy Deavers said, “Once completed, the reconstructed Emergency Room will occupy more than 10,000 square feet of space. For the more than 21,000 emergency room patients we anticipate providing care to each year, we are building a state-of-the-art facility right here in Oswego.”

Deavers pointed out that other key hospital departments will also expand including the imaging and radiology departments.

Other important aspects of the project include moving the laboratory (now located adjacent to the Emergency Room) to the third floor.

A six-bed, intermediate care unit for those needing critical monitoring, but not intensive care services, will also be built.

Once the project is completed, a reception desk and registration area will be immediately accessible at the new main entrance. The first floor will also feature an expanded snack bar, gift shop and other improvements that enhance customer service.

Construction has begun and will continue through late 2010.

As a way to keep the public informed, Oswego Hospital will embark on a community awareness campaign called “Your New ER” to provide up-to-date construction information during the project.

Effective today (Aug. 17) at noon, a new temporary Emergency Room entrance at West Sixth Street for both walk-in and ambulatory service will be open.

New signage and directional information will also be installed throughout the exterior and interior of the building to assist patients requiring emergency services.

The hospital hopes to have the ambulance services moved back to West Seventh Street by November.

The walk-in entrance will remain on West Sixth Street until spring 2010.

“We have already partnered with and provided detailed information on this project to first responders, government officials and other local leaders to ensure service continues as smoothly as possible during the construction,” Deavers said. “We will also have our Customer Care Representatives greeting patients at our temporary entrance 24 hours a day to help direct and assist patients and their families while we undergo these important changes.”

A Healthcare Efficiency and Affordability Law for New Yorkers grant for $14.4 million is the main source of funding for the project.

The hospital will need to fund the rest of the project through debt and community support.

“This project will allow Oswego Health to continue to fulfill its mission, which is to provide accessible, quality care to our community,” Gilpin said. “We are looking forward to providing our community with these new facilities and services.”

The Oswego Healthcare system includes the Oswego Hospital, The Manor at Seneca Hill, a skilled nursing facility; Springside at Seneca Hill, a retirement living community; an urgent care center in Fulton, as well as health services centers in Mexico, Parish and Phoenix.

For more information, call (315) 349-5500 or visit oswegohealth.org missing or outdated ad config

Print this entry