High quality care, comfort, convenience and privacy were high priorities in designing the new Emergency Department at Methodist Medical Center.

Methodist Medical Center's brand new Emergency Department is now open. High quality care, comfort, convenience and privacy were high priorities in designing the new space, which is twice the size of the previous emergency room.

Located on the east end of the medical center, the new department has three distinct areas to better serve patients' needs: one for patients who are acutely ill; one for observation of patients who have chest pain or are being admitted to the hospital; and one for patients who have non-urgent conditions. The department houses 20 exam and treatment rooms, seven fast-track rooms, four chest pain rooms, and seven observation bays.

Methodist is one of only two hospitals in the greater Knoxville area that has an integrated imaging center with a CT scanner in its emergency department. The scanner produces high-resolution, wafer-thin images of a patient's anatomy within seconds, which helps doctors make a diagnosis faster and begin treatment sooner. In addition, the imaging services area houses two direct-capture x-ray suites with digital technology to produce images immediately. That means there is no wait time to develop film. The department also has a computed radiography system that can be used to take portable x-rays when patients in the emergency department cannot move onto an x-ray table.

A large staff team center in the new Emergency Department makes the nursing staff and doctors more readily accessible to patients and their families and improves communications. Two state-of-the-art trauma rooms are located directly across from the team center. Glass walls give the staff optimum visibility of patients, and curtains may be drawn when privacy is needed. Each trauma bed has two vertical "headwalls" conveniently located on both sides of the bed to facilitate rapid access by the staff. Headwalls house suction, oxygen, and power outlets, and immediate access to these areas is important when patients are seriously ill or severely injured.

Several process improvements are enhancing patient flow through the department. During peak hours, for example, a "greeter" is stationed in the Emergency Department's lobby to assist patients and their families. Patients are asked about their main complaint and fill out a brief form. The greeter enters the information into a computer to quickly register the patient, which allows the patient evaluation process to proceed at a faster pace. The greeter also provides comfort, as needed, while patients wait to be evaluated by a nurse and quickly notifies the nurse if a patient requires immediate attention. While patients are in the Emergency Department, the greeter keeps family members informed about their progress.

"In addition, our tracking board, a computerized screen that we use to identify the location of patients, has been reconfigured," according to John Heifner, R.N., manager of the Emergency Department. "The new screen broadens our ability to know, for example, when patients are in the new imaging center or when a physician has written the patient's discharge orders."

For the convenience and privacy of patients and their families, Methodist's Emergency Department has a covered entrance for pull-through traffic and immediate entry from the conveniently located garage that offers free parking. The booths where patients register are enclosed, and there are three separate waiting areas and a new vending alcove.