Coney Island Hospital Starts Construction for New, Larger Emergency Room
Expanded Emergency Department Will Help Improve Access to Care, and Reduce Overcrowding and Wait Times
Dec 10, 2010
Coney Island Hospital Executive Director Arthur Wagner today announced the start of construction for a new, expanded Emergency Department (ED), which will increase the existing ED space by 60 percent and will help reduce crowding, increase the number of available treatment spaces and connect emergency room patients to care faster. Wagner was joined by Congressman Jerrold Nadler, Deputy Brooklyn Borough President Yvonne Graham, City Council Member Michael Nelson, Assemblyman Alec Brook-Krasny and other community leaders at a groundbreaking ceremony.
The new $10 million, 7,500-square-foot addition to the existing 10,500-square-foot Emergency Department will provide additional treatment space to accommodate the nearly 6,000 adult and pediatric patients who visit one of the busiest emergency departments in Brooklyn each month. It will also help to improve the efficiency of admissions and patient flow within the hospital. The ED will remain open 24-hours a day during construction and continue to provide emergency medical, surgical, trauma, and psychiatric assessment, evaluation and treatment for acutely ill adult and pediatric patients.
“Coney Island Hospital treats patients with some of most complex illnesses and emergent injuries. We have a small and aging facility and the new expansion and upgrade of our space will better support the high level of emergency and trauma care that we already provide,” said Arthur Wagner, Senior Network Vice President/ Executive Director, Coney Island Hospital. “Our improvements are in line with the overall Coney Island redevelopment initiative and will enable the hospital to respond to the growing, critical health needs of the people of Southern Brooklyn.”
“The expansion of Coney Island Hospital’s Emergency Department is an essential investment in the future of the Coney Island community. I am proud to have supported the hospital in the past, and this addition means that thousands of southern Brooklyn residents will have faster and better access to immediate health care,” said Congressman Jerrold Nadler. “Congratulations to Coney Island Hospital for continuing to grow with the needs of this population, and thank you to Mayor Bloomberg and Councilman Domenic Recchia for working hard to ensure that improved emergency care is-as it should be-a cornerstone of Coney Island’s progress and rejuvenation.” “This project is an important component of the Coney Island revitalization plan. As we build more housing and attractions, we need to ensure Coney Island Hospital can handle a greater influx of people. This institution has been a great partner in the Coney Island community, and I’m proud to work with them as we move toward a new day in Coney Island,” said City Councilman Domenic M. Recchia, Jr.
In FY 2009, the department handled more than 72,000 patient visits. Over 80 percent of all patients hospitalized at Coney Island Hospital were admitted to the hospital through the Emergency Department. Monthly, an average of 76 patients are admitted directly to the hospital’s Intensive Care Units – a measurement of the high degree of acuity of the hospital’s patients.
“The Emergency Room is the primary gateway into the hospital for a majority of our patients,” said Dr. Edmund Giegerich, Medical Director. “Our patients are deserving of a modern and technologically advanced environment that will be even more conducive to the delivery of safe and effective care.”
Dr. David Neckritz, Chairman, Emergency Department noted “Once the work is completed we will have a facility that is as exceptional as the high quality of patient centered care we currently deliver.”
Expected to be completed by the end of 2012, the Emergency Department will have:
- 3 Triage rooms for faster front-access flow
- 21 Treatment/Exam Rooms with cardiac/pulmonary monitoring capability
- 10 dedicated Adult Critical Care/Trauma bays adjacent to the ambulance bay
- 15 Rapid Care exam rooms for those patients who only require minimal treatment
- 2 airborne isolation rooms
- An external emergency decontamination facility
From its earliest beginnings in 1875 as a first-aid station for summer beach goers, Coney Island Hospital has grown into a multi-site community medical center with 371 beds. Part of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC), Coney is a designated Stroke Center and provides over 301,000 clinic visits and 70,000 Emergency Room visits to the communities of southern Brooklyn.
Contact: Ian Michaels (HHC) (212) 788-3339
About Coney Island Hospital
Coney Island Hospital is a member of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) and has served the Southern Brooklyn community since 1875. The 371 -bed hospital has more than 2,900 staff. Inpatient services account for 18,000 discharges annually and an extensive ambulatory care program serves more than 300,000 outpatient primary care and specialty care visits annually. Its emergency room sees more than 61,000 visits every year. Clinical centers of excellence include: Primary Care, Adolescent Medicine and Nuclear Medicine.
About HHC
The New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) is a $6.7 billion integrated healthcare delivery system with its own 420,000 member health plan, MetroPlusHealth, and is the largest municipal healthcare organization in the country. HHC serves 1.4 million New Yorkers every year and more than 475,000 are uninsured. HHC provides medical, mental health and substance abuse services through its 11 acute care hospitals, four skilled nursing facilities, six large diagnostic and treatment centers and more than 70 community based clinics. HHC Health and Home Care also provides in-home services for New Yorkers. HHC was the 2008 recipient of the National Quality Forum and The Joint Commission’s John M. Eisenberg Award for Innovation in Patient Safety and Quality. For more information, visit www.nychhc.org/hhc or find us on facebook.com/NYCHealthSystem or twitter.com/NYCHealthSystem.