A new, expanded emergency department - the centrepiece of a two-year, $10.2-million renovation project - is now complete at Richmond Hospital.

The renovations, announced by the Ministry of Health in the spring of 2009, were completed as three separate projects. The first two projects - worth a total of $5.3 million - were completed in the fall of 2010. They included an expansion to Richmond Hospital's ambulatory surgical services and sterile processing departments. The third project - the $4.9-million emergency department renovation and expansion project - began in fall 2009 and was completed in early April 2011.

The new expanded emergency department features two overflow beds and nine flexible care spaces, a dedicated pediatric resuscitation room and better security throughout. The renovation has also resulted in a larger waiting room and triage area, two new isolation rooms, a decontamination room, an expanded cast clinic to treat orthopedic trauma patients and a new urgent care area.

The urgent care area provides a dedicated area to treat patients who do not require full emergency care, such as those with minor fractures, wounds or gastrointestinal issues. This will help emergency teams to better prioritize cases and reduce congestion and wait times.

Throughout the renovation and re-build process, project contractor Halse Martin Construction and CEI Architecture worked closely with the Richmond emergency department staff and physicians to ensure the emergency department remained fully functional.

The Richmond Hospital Foundation contributed an additional $1 million to the emergency department project.

Not only was the foundation able to fund the entire pediatric resuscitation room - the focus of its fundraising campaign and the first at Richmond Hospital - but it also provided equipment upgrades to the emergency department project. Equipment includes the voice-controlled Vocera system with badges worn by staff for immediate, hands-free communication, and an emergency department-to-laboratory pneumatic tube system to deliver medication, equipment and samples. These two systems will result in workplace efficiencies that will allow staff to spend more time at patients' bedsides.

Quick Facts:

• At approximately 864 square metres (9,300 square feet), Richmond Hospital's new emergency department is a full 186 square metres (2,000 square feet) larger than the former space.
• The emergency department has 20 stretcher bays, up from a previous 16.
• Richmond Hospital's emergency department is the first ER in B.C. to make use of the Vocera system, which uses simple voice commands to allow hands-free communication between ER staff.
• Completion of this renovation project builds on other recent upgrades to Richmond Hospital, including the $6-million Park Centre.
• Opened in March 2009, the 883 square metre (9,500 square foot) Park Centre houses a new psychiatric emergency unit and expanded cancer care clinic.
• Approximately 48,000 patients visit the Richmond Hospital emergency department each year.
• The 175-bed Richmond Hospital is a large community hospital serving the needs of residents in Richmond and Delta, as well as travellers using Vancouver International Airport and BC Ferries.

Contacts:

Ryan Jabs
Media Relations Manager
Ministry of Health
250 952-1887

Trudi Beutel
Public Affairs Officer
Vancouver Coastal Health
604 708-5282
604 812-1847 (cell)