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ER OPENS DOORS IN SPOTSYLVANIA
A new freestanding emergency room opened yesterday in Spotsylvania
Date published: 10/28/2009
BY JIM HALL The new emergency room in Spotsylvania County has doctors, nurses, exam rooms and parking for ambulances out back. The CT scanner and stat lab are down the hallway from the lobby. Turn right at reception for triage and results-waiting. The ER that MediCorp Health System opened yesterday looks like its cousins at Mary Washington Hospital and Stafford Hospital Center. But it's different, too. There are no patient rooms upstairs, no cath lab for heart attacks, and no trauma surgeons to alert when a Code Orange is called. The region's newest ER is freestanding, tethered to its parent hospital in Fredericksburg but also almost five miles away. The idea is "to get out and provide care where the people live," said Walt Kiwall, MediCorp's executive vice president and chief operating officer. Kiwall and a number of other MediCorp and county officials helped cut the ribbon for the new facility yesterday. Within minutes of opening, the first two patients arrived, one by ambulance and the other a walk-in. By 4 p.m., 10 people had been treated. The new ER is a 24/7 operation, located in the Lee's Hill section of the county, within sight of Interstate 95 and down the hill from HCA's soon-to-open Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center. It's also in the middle of Spotsylvania's busiest emergency response district, where about one-third of all emergency calls originate. "If there's an opportunity that the patient's going to be treated and released, then this is a good opportunity for us," said Chris Eudailey, chief of the county's Fire, Rescue and Emergency Management department. "We'll drop the patient off and be able to turn our units around a lot quicker," Eudailey added. Several types of patients will still be routed to Mary Washington: trauma patients, those burned or having heart attacks or strokes, those who will need admission, and women more than 20 weeks' pregnant. But the others, including those with the flu, can go to the freestanding ER. Hospital officials expect to treat about 50 patients a day at the start. Mary Washington's ER sees 300 a day. Stafford treats about 125. "I think you're going to see more than predicted," said Gary Skinner, who represents the area on the county Board of Supervisors. "It's just a matter of once people know it's open." In eight months, when the HCA hospital opens, county residents will have a choice for emergency care. Said Skinner, "I have no doubt in my mind that HCA will be full, and this will be full." Jim Hall: 540/374-5433
Read more stories about Fredericksburg Date published: 10/28/2009
Seriously?....
(posted by
remembercasey
, Nov. 14, 2009 5:24 pm)
Do you people have to complain about everything? So now you have more choices, and even more on the horizon. Less of a wait time if you do have to go to the ER and you still have to gripe. Get a life, if this is all you have to worry about you must have it pretty good!
HCA is next door
(posted by
Wilderness
, Oct. 28, 2009 7:28 pm)
We have been using HCA hospitals in Richmond for years primarily because of the poor quality of service at MWH. It took decades to break Pratt Medicals hold on Physicians in F'burg, but it happened and now their are manyn options to patients. the same is thue with HCA. Break medicorps hold on hospital care and offer people an option. If you think medicorp is non-profit you must be crazy. There's plenty of money lining someones pocket in that organization.
Shortage of personnel
(posted by
Opiniontoshare
, Oct. 28, 2009 6:02 pm)
How can HCA be blamed for a shortage of personnel when it was Medicorp that rushed to build a second hospital without having the staff to fully operate it? HCA isn't operating in the area yet.
shortage
(posted by
riley6
, Oct. 28, 2009 5:22 pm)
It's not so much that there is a nursing shortage, it's a matter of MC not wanting to pay to hire more. I know many nurses who would work for MC if they were hiring. They list employment opportunities, but they are not filling them. I suspect that the new hospital will be charging more and paying staff less, since they are a FOR profit hospital and have an investment board to account to. MC is not for profit. Which doesn't mean they don't make a profit, just that they give back to the community.
taxpayer..
(posted by
SimplyAmazed
, Oct. 28, 2009 4:23 pm)
why would a clinical personnel shortage between the 2 hospitals occur? Based on the positions, which do not post for more than a day or two, advertised on the many job search websites I frequent, this area appears to have no loss of medical personnel who need to work. I honestly don't understand. Please explain. I would think competition in the market would make it a lot better for employees as well as the public utilizing the facilities.
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