TGH beefs up for trauma

The hospital's newly enlarged emergency center is ready for major disaster or terror.

By LISA GREENE, Times Staff Writer
Published November 7, 2007

Technologist Rodney Aman removes parts from a new CT scanner. Tampa General is the only hospital in the area that has MRI, 64-slice CT and ultrasound services in its trauma center.
	[Carrie Pratt | Times]

TAMPA - As the most sophisticated trauma center in Tampa Bay, Tampa General Hospital needs to be prepared for the absolute worst.

But its outdated emergency room was so crowded that patients sometimes spilled into the hallways. And in the event of one of the biggest potential threats, a hurricane, flooding could force emergency personnel to evacuate.

Not anymore.

Tuesday morning, the hospital unveiled its glistening new emergency room, which will open to patients at 4 a.m. Thursday - the ER's least busy time of the week. At 65,000 square feet, it's more than twice as big as the old one, is located 22 feet above sea level and can handle up to 250 patients at once in a disaster, triple its normal capacity.

"It's great news for the citizens of Tampa Bay," said Ron Hytoff, the hospital's president and chief executive. "Not only will we be able to take more trauma patients, but our waiting times will be shorter."

About 68,000 patients visit Tampa General's emergency room each year. The overcrowding that prompted the expansion is common across the country.

In a survey released last month by the American College of Emergency Physicians, more than 80 percent of the emergency doctors who responded said that crowding is hurting patients at their emergency rooms.

At Tampa General, the difference between old and new should show as soon as a patient enters the emergency room. Trauma patients arriving by ambulance go straight back to one of six new trauma bays, where medical equipment is mounted on booms hanging from the ceilings.

X-rays and CT scans can be read on computers by patient beds.

Patients who need surgery are sent down a short hallway to an operating room, instead of on a longer trip that includes waiting for an elevator.

Patients who arrive on their own go first to triage rooms, where emergency staffers can review their symptoms and send them for further care. The hospital has separate areas to care for chest pains, strokes and other conditions.

In the event of a terrorist attack, plane crash or other crisis, the emergency room can handle close to 250 patients at once, triple its normal load. It also has isolation rooms and mass decontamination showers.

Even though the hospital is one of only seven Level 1 trauma centers in the state prepared to handle the worst injuries and disasters, hospital officials could not remember a time they've needed to decontaminate a large number of people.

But in the event of a fuel spill or bioterror attack, now they'll be ready. The showers can be swiftly set up in the parking garage to wash off up to 200 people in an hour - or 25 patients too injured to walk.

The emergency room also has features designed for patient comfort: 66 private treatment rooms, a coffee bar for visitors and a pediatric emergency center with a nautical theme and a children's play area.

"It's stressful to be in the emergency room, so we wanted to make it as least stressful as possible," said Deana Nelson, the hospital's executive vice president and chief operating officer.

The emergency room is part of the hospital's 340,000-square-foot Bayshore Pavilion addition, which in all cost $190-million. Hospital officials would not break out the cost of the new ER alone.

When complete, the pavilion will include a new intensive care unit, women's center, cardiovascular center and digestive treatment center.

[Last modified November 6, 2007, 23:49:02]