Crouse Hospital is opening up a new emergency room Tuesday, replacing an ER that’s four decades old.
The new ER is replacing a space that hasn’t been working well, according to Crouse’s Emergency Department Medical Director David Mason.
“The space is so small we’re tripping over each other. A lot of our care and talking is done in the hallway, so lack of privacy,” said Mason.
Enter a brand new, state-of the art-facility called the Pomeroy Emergency Services Department that eliminates those issues, by offering 31 private rooms. In all, the facility is three times bigger than the current ER. There’s more room for visitors, and some rooms are earmarked for specific patients.
“Such as isolation rooms, for patients with certain contaminants,” said Mason. “We have resuscitation rooms, we have a bariatric room with an overhead lift. We do have some behavioral health rooms for patients with behavioral health or substance abuse needs. We have our stroke room.”
More than 40,000 people visited Crouse’s emergency room last year, and another 30,000 visited Crouse’s prompt care center across the street, making it the busiest emergency service in Syracuse. The second phase of the project will move the prompt care center into the old emergency room space, along with other renovations.
“As we go with the next phase of the project, they’ll be doing renovations to the front lobby, we’ll be doing more renovations to the street and the entrance, and there will be more valet for our patients and loved ones,” said Mason.
