Building for the Future
Avera Sacred Heart is Building for Our Future with the construction of a new, state-of-the-art Emergency Department (ED). Opening in late summer 2006, patients seeking emergency care will find one of the most sophisticated facilities in the region.
New, Enhanced Facility Design:
At 7,400 square feet along with an additional 1,400 square foot ambulance garage, the new emergency department will be twice the size of the current department. The facility is located directly to the east of the current location and will increase treatment rooms from six to eleven. A heated garage will enable ambulances to be parked side-by-side.
The new ED will have an expanded waiting room area for family and visitors and a special room for EMS providers. Two different entrances will separate critical patients that arrive by ambulance from walk-in patients and families, improving confidentiality and efficiency for all patients.
Immediate Access to Advanced Technology
Patients will be registered at the bedside to keep waiting times as brief as possible. Each room will have a patient information system to monitor patient vital signs. This data will be sent to the centralized nurses’ station allowing clinicians to track patient status and progress. The ED is located within minutes of crucial support services such as radiology and ICU.
- ASHH’s eICU technology provides the highest level of intensive care in the nation. This technology helps to improve care and shorten ICU stays by catching complications before they become serious.
- ASHH’s new GE LightSpeed16 CT scanner provides images faster than conventional scanners. In critical moments, a diagnosis can be made and life-saving treatment administered faster than ever before.
New ED Entrances During Construction
Look for the new emergency entrance signs on the east side of the hospital. There are temporary entrance changes for patients and visitors and EMS personnel. Patients now enter on the north side of the building and ambulances and EMS personnel enter on the south.
HIGHEST PATIENT SATISFACTION IN THE NATION!
Avera Sacred Heart Emergency Department Ranked One of the Best in the Nation!
The Avera Sacred Heart Emergency Department has earned the distinction of being ‘one of the very best’ according to national survey results recently released.
In a recent emergency satisfaction report conducted by Press Ganey Associates, Inc., 241 patients ranked Avera Sacred Heart Emergency Department in the 94th percentile for overall patient satisfaction and in the 99th percentile for satisfaction of emergency nursing care.
Avera Sacred Heart Hospital conducts an ongoing patient satisfaction survey process and these results were from a survey completed from July 1 to September 30, 2005. Avera Sacred Heart’s data was compared to almost 900 hospitals nationwide. Press Ganey Associates, located in South Bend, IN, is the health care industry’s leading expert in patient satisfaction and research.
Mike Larson, Director of Emergency Services, said that the staff was very pleased with these rankings. “We strive to provide high quality and prompt service to our patients and this survey was certainly an affirmation that our attention to customer service has been noticed,” said Larson. “The ASHH Emergency Department team of physicians, nurses and health unit coordinators all do their best to take care of patients with courtesy and compassion, often under very difficult and stressful circumstances.”
Here are additional highlights from the Emergency Department survey:
- 98th percentile rating of satisfaction for admission process
- 99th percentile rating of satisfaction for nursing staff
- 98th percentile rating of satisfaction for personal issues
- 97th percentile rating of satisfaction for tests and treatment
The Avera Sacred Heart Emergency Department - We are open 24 hours a day...everyday.
If you or a loved one needs immediate medical assistance, the Avera Sacred Heart Emergency Department is open 24 hours a day - everyday - to take care of your big and small emergencies. The Emergency Department is always ready for you and staffed by an emergency physician and an experienced staff - highly qualified and trained in Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) and Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS).
The Emergency Department offers Level III emergency care consisting of:
- 24-Hour Coverage
- Advanced Life Transport
- Fixed wing and helicopter transport as needed to area hospitals.
- Easy access and rapid response by a specially trained team.
DID YOU KNOW . . . . these interesting facts about the Avera Sacred Heart Emergency Department?
THE ED IS A BUSY DEPARTMENT...
- Treated 10,049 patients last year which averages to 27.5 patients per day?
- 1 out of every 5 patients seen in the ED are admitted to the hospital, accounting for 58.9% of all hospital admissions.
THE ED HAS A HIGHLY EDUCATED and EXPERIENCED STAFF...
- All ED RN’s have completed the Trauma Nurse Core Curriculum which certifies all ED nurses in trauma treatment and care.
- The Avera Sacred Heart Emergency Department employs four emergency physicians, all trained in ATLS, ACLS, PALS as well as other ED courses
THE ED PROVIDES QUALITY TREATMENT...
- 'Door to Needle' time for the emergency staff to provide life-saving thrombolytics to acute MI (myocardial infarction or heart attack) patients averaged 3 minutes less than in other similar hospitals and well under the “Gold Standard” benchmark for treatment.