Work on St. Mary's expansion to begin Dec. 1 The $13.5 million project offers new ambulance garages and updated bioterrorism units By Monique Balas News-Chronicle A 46,000-square-foot expansion at St. Mary's Hospital Medical Center may be just what the doctor ordered for the hospital to update its emergency facilities and better meet patient needs. The facility's planned two-story, $13.5 million emergency center will feature an expanded, remodeled emergency wing and new space for a future surgery area. Construction is slated to begin Dec. 1 and will likely continue for 30 months. "We really wanted to do the right thing for the community, so we embarked upon a pretty extensive planning process to get us to where we're at today," said St. Mary's assistant administrator Larry Connors. A two-year study on the project and its design incorporated input from emergency medical service providers, staff and the American College of Emergency Physicians, Connors said. The study revealed the center's two ambulance garages aren't large enough, so they will be replaced with three newer, larger garages. The project will include more negative pressure rooms, which will help isolate contaminants in the case of a biological attack. "We have the need particularly in terms of bioterrorism issues in the world, rooms that can contain communicable diseases and can contain disaster preparedness," Connors said. The new emergency area will also feature a radiology unit, a glassed-in nursing center and improved security features in the waiting area. An emphasis on patient comfort will provide extra rooms for patients and families, a children's play area and food services in the reception area. The current emergency department will be renovated and used for storage, conference rooms and other support functions. Connors said the hospital has more than doubled its patient treatment since its inception in 1980 and is now the eighth-busiest emergency department in the state. "There're been times where we've had to double up patients in rooms or had all the rooms filled," Connors said. He said the expansion will enable the emergency department to handle up to 50,000 patients a year, up from its current capacity of about 40,000. Patients can still access and be treated in the hospital's current emergency department, although they will have to enter through the hospital's west side (the main lobby). Signs will clearly mark the entrance. Connors said the project will be paid for entirely through current hospital operational funds, so it won't need to borrow or use reserve funds. "We're very excited about the benefits for our patients that will result from the project," Connors said.