Emergency Signs
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Community Medical Center is investing $13.5 million to expand and remodel their existing Emergency Department. Nancy Trangmoe is an ER physician and Medical Director for the Emergency Department. She said this project is made possible by an investment from LifePoint Health.

“We have been working on plans for many years to improve and enlarge our emergency department so that we may better our services to our community,” said Trangmoe. “Today is the day that we closed our existing registration and waiting area, and opened an alternative registration and waiting area so that we may start construction on the core of the emergency department to improve and increase the size.”

The Emergency Department has moved their public entrance to prepare for construction. Patients needing emergency care will now access the registration and waiting room areas to the right of the ambulance bay.

A patient drop-off driveway is available for patients who need assistance. Parking for the emergency department remains the same.

Trangmoe said the new Emergency Department will offer several adult and pediatric emergency services and amenities.

“It is not necessarily a new service, but it is a new feature and it is all private rooms,” Trangmoe said. “That is one of my most favorite pieces of this new project. Every patient has that comfort knowing that they are going to have a private space to be taken care of.”

The new Emergency Department will also have pediatric rooms, new trauma bays, a heated ambulance garage, and a 911 lounge for first responders.

“We will also have dedicated behavioral health rooms, which has really become necessary in our times with the crisis of mental health,” Trangmoe. “We have a greater ability to protect our patients and our staff. We have bariatric sensitive spaces, which will be super helpful for patients requiring that. We also have increased ability to protect people from transmission of contagious diseases, such as COVID-19. That was really a forefront priority.”

According to Community Medical Center, these areas were relocated in order to make room for the ER expansion. The first phase of the project will be complete by the end of November and includes a new imaging suite with a new low-dose CT scanner.

“Our CT scanner will be functional in the next couple of weeks,” Trangmoe said. “That was our very first phase of construction, which is almost completed. Technically, we are doing a second phase of construction, which required that we change the entry for ambulatory patients. Our first phase was to upgrade our CT scanners. By the end of this month, that will be up and running and available.”

The Emergency Department will remain open to care for patients during construction. The completion date is expected in early 2023.

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