Emanuel Medical Center held a groundbreaking ceremony last Friday to mark the beginning of construction for its much-anticipated Emergency Department expansion. The event brought together a large crowd, including community members, hospital employees, local elected officials, and representatives from the Emanuel County Hospital Authority and the Emanuel Medical Center Foundation. Also in attendance were representatives from RW Allen Construction, the general contractor overseeing the project, and architect Kevin Palmer.
The expansion aims to enhance patient care and reduce wait times by adding more treatment rooms, a “fast-track” lower-acuity treatment area, dedicated rooms for behavioral health patients, and a redesigned layout for improved efficiency.
CEO Damien Scott noted that while Emanuel Medical Center is a Level IV Trauma Center with consistently outstanding quality ratings, staff recognized opportunities to further enhance patient care, which this project aims to address. Along with the physical upgrades to the Emergency Department, staff are also introducing process improvements to elevate care delivery.
Emanuel County Hospital Authority member and Chair of the group’s Building & Grounds Committee, Smith Edenfield, thanked EMC employees for their dedication, noting the great strides that the hospital has made since the pandemic just a few years ago. Edenfield also thanked participants of the Georgia HEART program, adding, “This project will serve our community for generations, and those who have contributed to our hospital through Georgia HEART will be able to look at this and say, ‘I had a hand in that.’”
After remarks by Scott, Edenfield, and Emergency Department Manager and Trauma Program Manager Brooke Marsh, Hospital Authority member Rusty Simmons offered a prayer of blessing for the project.
Construction is expected to last through Spring 2025. During this time of construction, Emergency Department services have been moved to the hospital’s ICU. The Emergency Department entrance can now be found at the rear of the hospital, and ICU patients have been relocated to the second floor. Though their locations have changed, the Emergency Department and ICU will remain fully functional during this period.
The Emergency Department expansion project is being funded through a Rural Hospital Stabilization Grant and a Rural Hospital Support Dual Track Grant, both through the State Office of Rural Health, and by a State Economic Infrastructure Development Grant through the Southeast Crescent Regional Commission. Additional support comes from funds received through the Georgia HEART program, which allows Georgia taxpayers to direct their state income tax dollars to qualifying rural hospitals, such as EMC. © Copyright 2024 The Forest-Blade/Emanuel County Live. All rights reserved.
