Now with the modernization project nearly complete and the transition to Effingham Health System on the horizon, the community will have an Emergency Department that is double the size of the current facility. It will also offer enhanced privacy, renovated work areas, quick access to surgery, and is in close proximity to ancillary services such as radiology and laboratory. With the transition to Effingham Health System, community members will have excellence in emergency medicine, close to home and for decades to come.

While the brand-new Emergency Department area alone will allow for advanced care for patients, modernization project manager Mike Murphy said it will be the enhanced patient privacy that will be most noticeable. “The privacy increase for patients is going to be tremendous. Our current exam and treatment spaces are only separated by curtains. In the new Emergency Department, each patient exam and treatment space is a private and spacious room that accommodates life-saving equipment needed in any number of medical emergency scenarios. Modern healthcare demands patient safety and privacy. In our new environment, patients can feel completely comfortable talking to their doctor or caretaker about their condition,” said Murphy.

In addition to the private patient rooms, registration and financial services offices also provide patients with complete privacy. Additionally, when a patient requires services such as radiology or lab work while in the emergency room, they will be escorted to these departments via private hallways.

The new Effingham Health System Emergency Department will offer much more space for patients and staff. Betsy Tallent, RN, BSN, Chief Nursing Officer at Effingham Health System, said “We will be able to accommodate more patients at the same time, and the project gives the staff more space and working room. While we will offer the same life-saving medical services, this modernization project gives us more adequate space to deliver excellent care.”

The increased size is a must for Effingham Health System as the volume of Emergency patients, as well as the overall county population, continues to increase. Since 2000, Effingham County’s population has increased by 30.42 percent. Projections show that over the course of the next two decades, Effingham County has the potential to continue growing by approximately 30,000 individuals. “Our community is growing and people want to stay in the area to receive their medical services. We see very high volumes now, and we believe this will increase even more when people experience what our modern new facility has to offer,” Tallent said.

According to Murphy, the new Emergency Department will assist the hospital in its goal of achieving a Level 4 Trauma Department designation. Such a designation would allow the emergency medicine team to treat those patients with trauma type injuries or work to stabilize their injuries. The modernized space also allows for a separate decontamination room, private space for EMS personnel and a larger workspace for physicians to exam x-rays and test results.

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The 58,000 square-foot, $30 million expansion project is scheduled for completion in a matter of weeks. The construction of the new facility added much-needed space to the hospital as well as expanded the local workforce.

The economic impact of a project this size on the County is significant, with a ripple effect of two-for-one, according to Ed Brown, Effingham Hospital’s Chief Financial Officer. Brown approximates secondary economic spending, which includes money spent on architects, construction management costs and equipment, totals between $4 and $5 million. “Using local labor in a community project was a priority for us, and we wanted to impact the community swiftly and directly,” he added. Brown estimated that 68% of the construction force includes local contractors and subcontractors.

Aside from providing local construction companies with a positive economic boost, the project has also created new positions at the hospital. Vicky Little, Executive Director of Support Services, stated that during 2011 there have been several new hires, including two new hospital directors. Additionally, an orthopedic surgeon and a hospitalist are set to begin after the first of the year. “We’re excited to add to our team because we know that we’re providing our community with the convenience and medical expertise it deserves. In the coming weeks and months, we’ll also be hiring an internal medicine physician, new physician assistants, nurse practitioners, additional customer service representatives, and it’s likely that we will be increasing the housekeeping staff,” says Little.

The new facility will have a larger Emergency Room with improved patient privacy, spacious surgery suites with advanced communication technology for surgeons to connect with specialists, and a full complement of radiology services including digital mammography. In addition to the new wing, the Nursing Home has undergone an impressive renovation, now with a state-of-the-art special care unit for residents living with Alzheimer’s.

Since opening its doors in 1969, Effingham Hospital has provided cost-effective, communitybased healthcare to families living and working in Effingham County. The organization has received numerous awards for quality and patient care, and most recently, has been identified by employees as a great place to work.

Once the doors of the new space are open, the campus will officially be called Effingham Health System. The mission to provide quality care that is affordable to all will continue in a new and healing environment.

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Each of the surgery suites has increased in size by 400 square feet, and the new area also features seven private staging rooms that meet today’s contemporary standards for uncompromising patient care and privacy. The Surgery Department is also home to a special endoscopy procedures room, for such routine screenings as colonoscopies, three private recovery suites, and a central nursing station with the latest in communication and patient monitoring technology.

“The new Surgery Department is like heaven,” said Betsy Tallent, Chief Nursing Officer. “The modernization and expansion of our Surgery Department offers our community a major convenience, especially for our senior citizens and their families, who won’t have to travel far when in need of specialized surgeries,” Tallent added.

The new Surgery space is purposefully located adjacent to the Radiology and Laboratory Departments and connected through private hallways that also connect to the new Emergency Department. In a scenario where a patient arriving through the Emergency Department needs to have a CT scan and then go on to surgery, this can all be done without the patient ever being exposed to a public access corridor. Privacy and the need for a design that offers an advanced level of operational efficiency have always been driving forces behind the entire modernization project.

With the new space comes new interest from area physicians. Tammy Mims, Chief Operating Officer, said that the organization is actively recruiting new surgeons, a number of whom have contacted her directly to discuss becoming affiliated with Effingham Health System. “We fully recognize that specialists want to be able to practice in a space that offers patients the best possible environment for care. Our team is excited about the move and all of the possibilities that it has to offer, including the ability to perform a wider variety of orthopedic surgeries for example,” offered Mims.

Communities benefit in so many ways when they have direct and immediate access to a healthcare system that offers a broad range of medical and wellness services. The new Surgery Department and the additional surgeons now traveling to Effingham County to provide care are just a few of the many ways that Effingham Health System is advancing medicine for its community.

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