SLO’s French Hospital unveils new state-of-the-art ER — here’s an inside look
French Hospital Medical Center’s new emergency room wing is nearly ready to welcome patients, after Dignity Health Central Coast showed off the state-of-the-art facility in a preview on Friday.
Administrators and staff at the San Luis Obispo hospital gave tours, answered questions and held a ribbon-cutting for the $17 million facility, which faces Johnson Avenue in the hospital’s complex.
The wing adds 8,600 square feet to the hospital, more than doubling the size of its existing emergency department.
The existing 45-year-old emergency room area is slated for a makeover to provide a new, dedicated medical imaging area that will include x-ray and ultrasound technology.
Construction to convert the old wing will start shortly after the new emergency room opens on Feb. 17, pending some final routine checks for state permitting, according to Dignity Health staff members.
“We are eager to share our emergency department expansion with the community and look forward to the future of French Hospital,” said Alan Iftiniuk, French Hospital’s president and CEO.
Hospital’s new ER has more than triple the private rooms
The costs of the new wing, which includes 18 private rooms specially outfitted for a variety of treatments, were funded partly by a $5.5 million donation from Peter and Mary Beth Oppenheimer that was the largest gift in the hospital’s history.
Additional smaller donations supported the hospital’s budget allocations toward the project.
“French Hospital continues its pledge to remain at the forefront of health care, and we are eternally grateful to those, such as the Oppenheimers, that have chosen to support our facility by contributing to our vision of exceptional care for our community,” Iftiniuk said.
A tour of the facility showcased a sparkling new space with colorful, glistening interior decor and treatment rooms filled with brand-new equipment.
The individual rooms, most with sliding glass doors to accommodate physician and nurse check-ins, are designed for critical care, geriatric patients, trauma, infectious disease isolation, pediatrics, and orthopedic emergencies, as well as fast-track beds for patients with less urgent conditions.
New amenities, rooms among French Hospital expansion
Much of the new ER offers upgrades the hospital didn’t enjoy before, such as a wing to treat people suffering from mental illness. The specially designed room has roll-down doors that shut off access to walls of built-in instruments, to prevent them from being used by patients to hurt themselves or others.
Another area, the “Quiet Room,” is set aside for families who are grieving or processing difficult medical news about a loved one.
For children, the ER now has a dedicated pediatric room decorated with a colorful cartoon wall mural to help entertain and distract kids from their ailments.
And an infectious disease isolation area offers space for quarantine, where medical officials in protective body suits can treat patients and showers with isolated plumbing allows for the safe disposal of contaminated water.
A staff room offers a sleeping area for overnight medic shifts or naps, as well as a shower, both new amenities.
A two-bed trauma suite features is outfitted with the latest equipment to improve patient care, including lifts that accommodate up to 1,000 pounds and a computerized medication dispenser that allows authorized personnel to safely access secured drugs on site without making a trip to the hospital pharmacy.
Hospital’s new four-story patient tower is next
In addition to the new ER, the hospital is embarking on a new $130 million four-story patient care tower.
That project will rely on raising about $30 million, of which $10 million has been collected so far, with $100 million of its costs covered through the hospital’s budget.
It envisions 56 new single-patient rooms, bringing the total licensed bed count to 180, making it the largest hospital in the county.
Other additions include:
▪ a 16-bed, private Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
▪ an additional 10 Intensive Care Unit beds, bringing the total to 21 (all single rooms)
▪ a new front entrance, lobby and dining area
▪ a new interfaith chapel
▪ a rooftop garden terrace providing space for sensory stimulation, socializing and outdoor activities
▪ a helicopter landing pad for critical emergencies
▪ a new parking structure
To learn more about the expansion, go to https://gobeyondhealth.org/.
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