The President of SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital in Centralia says the final touches are being put on the enlarged and renovated 7,700 square-foot emergency room.
Damon Harbison says they will soon be seeking the Illinois Department of Public Health approval to begin utilizing the entire new ER facility. He feels the beautiful new emergency department matches the passion, dedication, and hard work not only during the current COVID-19 pandemic but every day.
“The project itself cost roughly $5.5-million, as an investment, and I’ll tell you what, this community and staff came together and we raised over $3-million. So $3-million of the $5.5-million was raised just in generous donations from the community, the employees, and the physicians. Everything we were throwing our energy at. I couldn’t be more proud.”
Harbison notes the TOGET(ER) campaign received donations from over 270 donors.
The new Emergency Department has 2,200 square feet of new medical space and many specialized rooms.
“We have two dedicated critical care rooms right next to our brand new ambulance entrance. So if you remember before, the entrance was shared by ambulance personnel as well as those individuals walking into the ED. That’s no more. We now have two entrances which is great. We have a decontamination room for when we have chemical spills. We also added four new high-risk behaviour rooms. So anytime we have a behavioral health patient come in that’s having a really bad day we can put them off into their own suite and we have four rooms for that.”
The facility also has a dedicated room for treatment and containment of the infectious disease, another specifically for pediatric patients, and one for sexually assaulted patients. In addition, there are four rapid medical examination units for the treatment of more minor illnesses and injuries which expedites care and improves flow throughout the ER.
The visitor lobby and conference rooms have been expanded and modernized for the family’s needs. There is also a new staff lounge, ADA restrooms, larger doorways, expanded security office, as well as landscaping and restoration of statues.
Artwork featuring flowers covered with morning dew is used as a reminder that every day is a new day.
One of the emergency department’s new exam rooms.
SSM Health St. Mary’s Emergency Department’s new front desk.
Front lobby of new Emergency Department.
Hallway running through new SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital Emergency Department.
