UHC Opens New Emergency Department

University Hospital & Clinics (UHC) held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, April 20th, at 10 a.m. to announce the completion of its newly renovated and expanded Emergency Department (ED). The expansion brings the ED from 2,450 square feet to 10,383 square feet.

The $3.7 million expansion and renovation project, which included three phases, began in June of 2015. UHC now enjoys 20 private exam rooms, up from three private exam rooms and six curtain bays, along with a reconfigured registration, triage and waiting area.

The Emergency Department at UHC treats over 47,000 patients annually. The newly expanded space allows UHC to treat patients in a more timely and efficient manner. In 2013, prior to the public-private partnership with Lafayette General Health, the emergency department at UHC treated an average of 3,000 patients each month. Now, an average of 4,000 patients are treated monthly.

“The Emergency Department at UHC is now right-sized, to treat the amount of patients the ER sees monthly” says Katie Hebert, CEO of University Hospital & Clinics. “We are providing high quality care with a reduced wait time, which has greatly decreased the number of patients that leave our ED without being seen.”

Emergency Departments across the country track the “left without being seen rate”. The national average is 2.6 percent. In 2013, the rate of patients who left UHC without being seen was 16.5 percent. Now, the left without being seen rate at UHC is .52 percent.

Guests and visitors of this morning’s ribbon-cutting ceremony enjoyed refreshments and were given tours of the new Emergency Department.