By Chris Fuchs
The project, begun in March 1999, involved the demolition of an existing building where the three-story, 77,000-square-foot pavilion in Flushing is to be placed. The emergency room is scheduled to open first, in January, and will offer patients a multitude of services, including trauma and pediatric care.
The second and third floors are to provide further pediatric facilities and gynecological services as well. That phase of the project is expected to be completed by February, said Cynthia Miska, a hospital spokeswoman.
In addition to the new pavilion, near Main Street and 56th Avenue, the hospital has also been renovating the pediatrics, general inpatient and intensive care units of an existing building, she said. Miska did not know the expected completion dates for those phases.
On the first floor of the new pavilion, both children and adults will be able to get emergency treatment. The second floor will house a baby nursery, and the third floor obstetrical and neonatal care.
More specifically, the first floor will feature five treatment hubs: a trauma center; a fast track, urgent care; a pediatric emergency department; an acute services for adults; and a chest pain center. Although the trauma center would be reserved for the most serious of injuries, the fast track/urgent care will treat patients seeking general medical services, like dental and ear, nose and throat.
The pediatric department, on the other hand, will treat serious emergencies but will do so with an eye focused on the needs of children and their parents. The Acute Services for Adults department and the Chest Pain Center will both provide medical care for particular medical emergencies.
The three other phases of the overall project entail upgrading facilities in an existing hospital building, though the hospital spokeswoman could not provide dates of completion by presstime. Two of those phases will provide care for the sickest children, for pregnant women viewed as high risks; the final phases will focus on improvements in the physical plant.
