BENNINGTON, Vt. (AP) — A $25 million proposal to modernize an emergency department in Vermont would be the first major upgrade in 25 years, according to officials.
The proposed project to nearly double the size of the Emergency Department at Southwest Vermont Medical Center is now under review, the Bennington Banner reported Monday.
The upgrade is an effort to accommodate the increase in the number of patients treated annually in the department since 1996, from 15,000 a year to an average of 23,700 in the past few years.
The application outlines a need to modernize the emergency department, hospital main entrance and entry way to address the issues of overcrowding and create a better operational flow.
The current emergency department provides excellent care, said Thomas Dee, president and CEO of Southwestern Vermont Health Care, “but the space was designed for 10,000 fewer people (annually).”
The expanded ER will have 18 treatment spaces, two more than they had before, and the spaces will be enclosed rather than curtained off.
The project would also address undersized treatment rooms, limit space for the care team, and hamper effective use of technology, and rooms that don’t meet contemporary building code standards.
The hospital hopes to receive approval from the state board before September with plans on breaking ground on construction in early 2021. The project completion date is expected to be in 2023, according to the application.
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