PHOTOS COURTESY CAPE COD HEALTHCARE
The exterior of the new Yawkey Emergency Center at Falmouth Hospital.
FALMOUTH – Cape Cod Healthcare has unveiled the new Yawkey Emergency Center at Falmouth Hospital with plans to open in the middle of the month.
The $13 million center will feature 40 beds, 24,000 square feet of space and will be able to accommodate up to 50,000 patients each year.
The new center is an increase of 10,000 square feet from the former center, with almost double the patient beds–from 23 to 40. In addition, there are 33 new private patient rooms in the center.
Chief of the Emergency Department at Falmouth Hospital Dr. Robert Davis said the new center will be able to set an example for other facilities.
“I think we are going to be one of the places people come to see when they are going to design their ER,” said Davis. “It is an example of something that works.”
The main hall of the new emergency center at Falmouth Hospital.
Davis said it was time for the new facility at Falmouth Hospital.
“We have simply outgrown ourself,” said Davis. “We are seeing now over 40,000 patients a year.”
Davis said the quarters were too close, the hallways were too narrow and treatment rooms were too small.
The Falmouth Hospital Emergency Center was last updated in 1998, according to Cape Cod Healthcare spokeswoman Robin Lord. The projected annual patient volume at that time was 25,000 visits, but in recent years, the annual patient volume has exceeded 42,000 visits, with an average daily census of 110.
In addition to patient volumes, most patients also have one or two visitors in the emergency center with them.
During the summer months, according to Lord, the Falmouth Hospital Emergency Center is among the busiest in New England. “Overcrowding negatively impacts patient privacy and the delivery of care. During periods of high patient volume, our physicians and other clinicians are often forced to treat patients in shared spaces, including hallways,” she said.
The lobby of the new emergency center at Falmouth Hospital.
The Falmouth Hospital Emergency Center consistently scores in the 95th percentile in patient satisfaction scores, despite the cramped conditions, according to Lord.
The Yawkey Foundation contributed $1.5 million to the new emergency center.
Among the other major donors are Falmouth Hospital Auxiliary, which donated $1 million; Lyndon Paul Lorusso Charitable Foundation, which donated $1 million; and an anonymous gift of $1 million.
