COLUMBUS, Ohio – Trinity Health Group announces the opening of Doctors Hospital’s new $27.5 million two-story facility. The expansion, designed by Trinity in collaboration with URS Corporation, more than doubles the size of the emergency department on the first floor and adds a technologically advanced medical education center to the second floor.
The OhioHealth Board of Trustees approved $15 million for the emergency department in 2008 to improve care and ease overcrowding. The unit had been accommodating 70,000 patient visits a year – 30,000 above capacity.
Trinity, experts in facility master planning and hospital design, first determined future growth patterns by analyzing the market. “We needed to see how the population would change over the next ten years so we could understand what the demand would be on the hospital,” explains Bob Gesing, principal of Trinity. The new unit has increased in size from 14,000 to 30,000 square feet and in capacity to 100,000 patient visits a year.
Trinity designed the new emergency department to include 50 private exam rooms, two trauma rooms, seven triage rooms, indoor/outdoor decontamination facilities, a café and comfortable waiting areas. “It allows patients to be seen sooner in more comfortable, private environments,” said Marci Conti, RN, Vice President of Operations and Chief Nursing Officer.
Electronic medical records, the most advanced diagnostic technology and more space for ambulance crews are among the wide scope of improvements. The expansion enhances hospital services such as the groundbreaking Physicians in Triage program that enables patients with minor complaints to bypass the waiting room for treatment.
The second floor of the new addition is home to the Heritage Center for Osteopathic Medical Education which was funded with a $12.5 million grant from the Osteopathic Heritage Foundation. The center consolidates all medical education and research programs into a training facility that features human patient simulators, an anatomical laboratory, medical library, wireless Internet access, a 350-seat auditorium and administrative offices for the Department of Research and Education.
Doctors Hospital is the second largest osteopathic teaching hospital in the United States and provides postgraduate training to more than 160 physicians a year from 14 of the nation’s 26 osteopathic medical schools.
“The new center, coupled with our excellent programs, makes Doctors Hospital more attractive to the best residents from all over the country, many of whom may stay in the area to improve our standard of care. It definitely will help us recruit the top physicians in each graduating class,” said Deborah Blackwell, DO, Vice President, Medical Education.
About Doctors Hospital
Doctors Hospital is a member of OhioHealth, a nationally-recognized, not-for-profit charitable, healthcare organization serving and supported by the community that was named by FORTUNE Magazine as one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” in 2007, 2008 and 2009. Based in Columbus, Ohio, OhioHealth is a family of 17 hospitals, 20 health and surgery centers, home-health providers, medical equipment and health service suppliers throughout a 40-county area. OhioHealth hospitals in central Ohio are Riverside Methodist Hospital, Grant Medical Center, Doctors Hospital, Grady Memorial Hospital and Dublin Methodist Hospital. For more information, please visit our Web site at http://www.OhioHealth.com.For more information about Doctors Hospital’s medical education program, visit http://www.ohiohealth.com/doctors.
About Trinity
Trinity is an architectural design and business consulting group specializing in healthcare facility development. Trinity bridges the gap often found within healthcare planning by providing an integrated business model which concurrently addresses market, strategy, operations and design. Trinity’s unique approach has resulted in a nationwide consulting practice and prestigious membership in The Healthcare Roundtable. Since their inception in 1998, they’ve grown continuously through their office in Columbus, Ohio. For more information, call 614. 899. 4830 or please visit http://www.trinityhealthgroup.com.
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Trinity Health Group 