The proposed 6,561-square-foot emergency room has a budget of $27.6 million, with a goal for completion by the end of 2020. The hospital expansion will be paid for with $22.6 million in provincial funds, and the remaining $5 million is projected to be raised by the Eagle Ridge Hospital Foundation. A request for proposals for detailed design and construction is now underway, with construction expected to begin summer of 2018.

The goal of the expansion is to create more space for staff and patients, as conditions are currently cramped quarters. The expansion will double the number of patients beds from 19 to 39, which will reduce wait times for patients. The new emergency room will provide four new isolation rooms for patients with infectious diseases, and a new anteroom for health workers to change in. There will be two new trauma resuscitation bays, and more hand-washing bays for staff.

A separate entrance for walk-in patients and ambulance paramedics will be built to offer walk-in patients a more peaceful emergency room experience. A pediatric area for families will be included in the new emergency center to increase patient comfort. “These sorts of things make the staff more efficient and patients more comfortable,” said Mike Mostrenko, M.D., head of the Eagle Ridge emergency room, in a recent statement.

In order to accommodate the expansion of the emergency department, health records will be moved to the basement of the hospital, diagnostic cardiology will move to the health records area, and rehabilitation services will relocate to a partially-vacant part of the hospital.

Once complete, the expanded emergency room is projected to be able to handle 68,000 patients per year, an increase from the current 50,000. The province says more than 103 direct jobs and more than 66 jobs in supplier industries will be created from this project, with a total of more than 169 during construction.

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