Hospital Unveils New Emergency Department

The sun was shining bright and spring birds could be heard chirping as officials cut the ribbon to dedicate St. Mary Medical Center’s new Emergency Department Tuesday morning at the Middletown Township hospital.

The state-of-the-art emergency room is expected to officially help the first patients next Monday starting at 9 a.m., hospital officials said.

The original emergency room was only built to handle 54,000 people annually. The new emergency room can handle the over 72,000 patients who come to the hospital for first-aid treatment every year, Dr. Gary Zimmer, chairman of emergency medicine, told the crowd gather at the ribbon-cutting event. According to the hospital’s estimate, the new emergency room, which also handles trauma patients, will be able to treat 100,000 people annually.

“Access to patient care has been improved, allowing us to effectively and efficiently treat the growing number of emergency patients,” Zimmer said.

The hospital also recently put a new “split-flow” staff model in place. Officials said the new model has cut down the time from when patients walk in the door to being evaluated to just minutes.

Zimmer said the new staffing model “has had a tremendous impact on the quality of care patients receive.”

Hospital CEO Greg Wozniak thanked the community for their support of the project. He also touted local emergency medical service providers for the work they do, adding the hospital installed new parking areas and a lounge for first responders.

Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick, who first met his wife years ago at the hospital, praised the new emergency room and thanked the facility for the jobs and care they provide. The hospital is the largest employer in the county with over 3,000 staff, officials said.

Adding to the festivities, Bucks County Commissioner Diane Marseglia read a proclamation naming April 9 to be St. Mary Medical Center Day across the county.

Tuesday’s opening was part of a  $22 million multi-phase expansion plan to improve the hospital, which opened in 1973.

Phase 1 of the project, completed in December, involved upgraded patient rooms in the emergency ward of the hospital. Phase 2 was the new emergency room. Finally, Phase 3 involved renovating the trauma center and is expected to be completed in August.

Despite the new emergency room and upgraded facilities, Wozniak said, “Our employees make the difference everyday.”

Check back Wednesday morning for a photo tour of the new Emergency Department.