Northwest Hospital Center in Randallstown has opened its state-of-the-art ER-7,
featuring 50 percent more space, more streamlined registration and treatment,
and specialized care centers.
The Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Pavilion for Emergency Medicine is segmented
into seven specially designed centers:
Pediatric Care Center - a friendly environment for those under the
age of 16
Cardiac Care Center - extensive monitoring and treatment for acute
cardiac problems and to rule out heart attacks.
Rapid Care Center - a separate area for minor illnesses and injuries
Urgent Care Center - for acute illnesses other than cardiac problem
Emergent Care Center - intensive care for the critically il
Observation Care Center - for care, testing and treatment in stages
or over an extended perio
Psychiatric Care Center - for acute mental illness.
The 21,000-square-foot ER-7 improves and enhances all aspects of care and maintains
the hospital�s commitment to patient comfort, privacy and compassionate
care. Full registration now occurs at the bedside, after the patient is designated
to a particular care area. Individual treatment areas are set up as specially
designed centers catering to the needs of patients requiring that type of care.
In the old ER model, a migraine sufferer could be placed near a patient
screaming out in pain,� notes Becki Vasse, director of Critical Care and
Emergency Services. This will not happen in the ER-7 model because the
objective is balanced care � making sure each patient is in the best possible
setting to promote optimal treatment and recovery.�
Privacy considerations were also paramount in the design of ER-7, where patients
are able to sit with the doctor and discuss their conditions without being overheard
by others. Healthcare decisions are made much more easily and patients will
be treated and admitted to the hospital or discharged home much more quickly.
Families, too, enjoy private waiting areas equipped with televisions and telephones,
and have access to a patient and family advocate, who attends to their non-medical
needs while in the ER-7.
The goal of ER-7 is to continue to provide high quality, compassionate
emergency care for our community in a comfortable setting,� says Robert
Fischer, president of Northwest. We have expanded our private room concept
to include private treatment areas in the ER similar to those on our inpatient
floors. Our patients can relax in private and let our expert medical team attend
to their needs.�
The ER-7�s emergence could not have been more timely. Northwest emergency
professionals treated more than 46,000 patients last year, including 5,000 pediatric
cases. Estimates project 53,000 visits by FY 2005.
The $8.5 million project was funded in part by a $6 million capital campaign,
which included grants from the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, the Northwest
Hospital Center Auxiliary, the Helen P. Denit Charitable Trust, and The John
J. Leidy Foundation.
A full week of events coincided with the mid-June opening, including a Health
and Safety Fair on Saturday, June 15. Northwest ER-7 opened to the public for
patients on June 26, 2002.
Northwest�s ER-7 is modeled after the area�s first ER-7, implemented
three years ago at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore. Northwest Hospital Center is
a member of LifeBridge Health, a regional health organization that includes
Sinai Hospital, Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center and Hospital, Jewish Convalescent
& Nursing Home, and related subsidiaries and affiliates.
