On Wednesday, August 4, Baylor Medical Center at Garland officials celebrated the official completion of the Baylor Garland emergency department expansion (ED). The expansion increased the emergency department's foot print by 21 percent, with an additional 4,300 square feet. The ED remained in full operation during the 18-month project.
The number one goal in emergency medicine is reducing "door-to-doc" time, or how long it takes on average to see a physician after walking in the door. With the expansion, the "door-to-doc time" is now been reduced to half the amount of time prior to construction. The Baylor Garland ED has approximately 70,000 visits annually.
"One of the main reasons EDs have struggled with long patient wait times is the sequential nature in which we process patients," says Steve Arze, M.D., emergency department medical director, Baylor Garland. "We see patients much like a doctor's office would--patients arrive, register and wait their turn. At Garland, we've changed this method to a parallel process that enables us to be more efficient." Almost half of the patients seen in Baylor Garland's ED are classified as urgent office patients, meaning they may have an emergent need but do not require a bed, explains Arze.
With the parallel process, patients do not have to wait for registration or the nurse--the doctor may be the first one to see a patient.
The last update of the Baylor Garland ED occurred in 1994. Since that time, Garland's population has grown by 100,000, plus the staff also serves residents from Richardson, Mesquite, Rowlett, and the newer communities of Wylie, Sachse and Murphy.
Joel Allison, president and CEO, Baylor Health Care System; James Miller, member of Board of Trustees, Baylor Garland; and Steve Arze, M.D., medical director, emergency department, Baylor Garland spoke at the 30-minute celebration.
Quick Facts:
- Baylor Medical Center at Garland's emergency department (ED)
- The new ED has 35 private treatment rooms, with 20 regular beds, seven critical care beds and eight RMEs, or rapid medical examination rooms.
- New waiting areas
- Dedicated laboratory
- Dedicated radiology room
- Dedicated 16-slice CT scanner will be installed later in 2010.
- The ED is in process of applying to become a Certified Chest Pain Center by the Society of Chest Pain Centers.
- ED is equipped to provide hypothermia treatment for sudden cardiac arrest, which increases average survival rate to 46 percent from 3 percent.
Baylor Medical Center at Garland fast facts – FY 2009
- Admissions (including newborns) 11,815
- Babies born: 1,575
- Outpatient visits (excl. home care and emergency department): 71,924
- Licensed beds: 281
- Physicians on medical staff: 574
- Full-time employees: 1,136
- Joined Baylor Health Care System in 1991.
About Baylor Scott & White Health
As the largest not-for-profit health system in the state of Texas, Baylor Scott & White is empowering customers to live well by reimagining traditional healthcare — creating more convenient, personalized and informed experiences. It serves more than three million customers through 53 hospitals, including flagship academic medical centers in Dallas, Fort Worth and Temple; the Baylor Scott & White Research Institute; 1,300+ access points; 59,000+ team members; and its leading digital platform — MyBSWHealth. The system's award-winning employer solutions include Baylor Scott & White Health Plan, Baylor Scott & White Quality Alliance and Levanto — a company offering digitally enabled health products. Founded as a Christian ministry of healing more than a century ago, Baylor Scott & White's mission is to promote the health and well-being of all individuals, families and communities. For more information, visit: BSWHealth.com