The new emergency room at Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital had
its first patient the morning of Dec. 6 after years of anticipation
by voters and the health district.
The new emergency room at Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital had its first patient the morning of Dec. 6 after years of anticipation by voters and the health district.
The construction broke ground in June 2008 and recently wrapped up before final pieces were put in place for the opening. The old E.R. officially closed at 6:42 a.m. Dec. 6, and the new one opened at 6:43 a.m., said Frankie Arballo, the hospital’s spokeswoman. It happened to be a busy first morning, too, but it was incidental because the hospital did not publicize the event.
“It took a tremendous amount of coordination with all of the hospital staff members to make the transition,” Arballo said. “But it was a smooth transition and it was excellent teamwork on everybody’s part.”
Allowing the project – along with others such as the already finished support services building and a women’s center breaking ground next year – was the $31.5 million bond issuance that passed in May 2005. Funding for the 30-year bond came from assessed values on properties in San Benito County.
The tax is $14.95 for every $100,000 of assessed value.
“We’re extremely appreciative to all of the voters and taxpayers in the community that havfe supported the bond measure and allowed us to complete this construction,” Arballo said.
The new E.R. is expected to have capacity to serve as many as 30,000 patients a year in 14,500 square feet of space, more than doubling the size of the existing emergency room. It includes seven private treatment rooms, three trauma bays, four negative-pressure treatment rooms for communicable diseases and a fast-track unit to speed up the visit for those with less-urgent matters
Along with the new facility, the hospital’s nonprofit foundation also kicked in $500,000 for equipment such as helping to pay for a new, more advanced C.T. scanner. The old one was a 64-slice machine, while the new one is 128 slices, Arballo said. The hospital auxiliary donated another $44,000 to furnish the waiting room, supply chairs for the treatment rooms and furnish the staff lounge.
With the construction taking about a year longer than expected, Arballo noted how there are “always different things that needed to be tweaked.”
“When you go from paper to steel, it’s a whole different ballgame,” she said.
MORE ON THE E.R.
The ER also has a technologically advanced 128 slice state-of-the-art CT Scanner, and a decontamination room. The staff also dedicated their break room as Renee’s Corner in honor of their co-worker Renee Flores who passed away a couple of years ago. The ER was built with funds from Measure L. Measure L was a bond measure intended to raise $32 million over a 20-year period to upgrade Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital.
The newly equipped ER has 18 total beds which include:
– 7 private treatment rooms
– 3 state-of-the-art trauma bays
– 4 negative pressure treatment rooms (one of which will be an isolation room)
– 4-bed “fast track” area to speed up services for people who come in with non-life
The bond will help pay for:
– New Emergency Room with CT Scanner
– New Obstetrical Unit
– New Physical Rehabilitation Unit
– New In-Patient Surgical Unit
– The Support Services Building
– Medical and Technological Equipment Upgrades
