St. John’s Episcopal Hospital completed the second phase of construction on the expansion of its emergency department, the hospital announced this week.
The project aims to see the emergency department expand from around 10,000 square feet to around 21,000 square feet. The updated department will also feature 18 private treatment rooms, new equipment, new digital blood pressure monitors and negative pressure rooms to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and the flu.
“This emergency department allows us to treat patients efficiently and safely,” said Teddy Lee, the chairman of the Emergency Department. “We are witnessing the emergency department of the future, but instead of tomorrow, that future is a reality today at St. John’s.”
As the only hospital on the Rockaway peninsula, SJEH was built to serve 10,000 patients per year. The hospital now averages around 49,000 patients on a yearly basis.
Not only does the new emergency department hope to meet the current demand of patients, but the hospital is also betting on an increase in the number of residents in the Rockaways due to recent investments into housing in the area.
“We are constantly evaluating the health care needs of the communities we serve so that we make sure that we are able to provide necessary services,” said Jerry Walsh, CEO of the hospital. “Our patients and community members depend on us to provide excellent health care, and that is what we intend to continue to do.”
The hospital is also expanding its outpatient capacity, as it plans to open two new facilities in the coming year.
In December, SJEH plans to open an outpatient facility at 105-38 Rockaway Beach Blvd., and at some point in 2021, the hospital plans to open another facility on Plainview Avenue, in collaboration with Ross University.
