LIFE-CHANGING MOMENT
Samaritan to open new emergency room Thursday, St. Mary’s to have urgent care center
TROY, N.Y. >> Urgent and emergent health care in the city will see big changes Thursday morning, and officials at Samaritan and St. Mary’s hospitals say those changes will mark a big step forward for both doctors and patients.
With the new Emergency Department at Samaritan Hospital set to open at 4 a.m. Thursday, officials from St. Peter’s Health Partners, the parent organization for both of the city’s hospitals, offered a first look at the state-of-the-art emergency room that is part of the $90 million Heinrich Medicus Pavilion that has been under construction for the past two years. Just hours after the emergency department opens, the emergency room at St. Mary’s will make its planned transition into an urgent- care center.
The 32,000- square- foot Emergency Department will be the first part of the new building to open, with intensive and progressive care, medical and surgical units and private rooms to be opened every few weeks, leading up to a ribbon- cutting ceremony in late spring or early summer.
“This new emergency department was designed by our staff and for our staff,” said Norman Dascher Jr., CEO for the two Troy hospitals, “and every aspect of the unit reflects two guiding priorities: providing the best care and the best experience for our patients.”
Dr. John Janikas, director of emergency services for the two hospitals, as well as Albany Memorial Hospital, and Judy Quinn, nurse manager of emergency services at Samaritan, led a tour for local media, pointing out and explaining new features, such as a pair of resuscitation rooms for the most grave of cases and new rapid assessment areas where officials hope to treat minor illnesses and injuries more quickly. They also explained how even the most minute design points — such as putting ambulance and walk-in entrances on opposite ends of the department or adding specially designed rooms for seniors that include sound- proofing, larger clocks and other amenities, as well as specialized staff training, to help them feel safe and secure — were considered in making the department best work for staff and patients.
“The design and layout of the new Emergency Department at Samaritan Hospital will allow our providers to more quickly triage patients and more effectively manage those with acute medical conditions,” Janikas said. “The state- of-theart facility, combined with the skill and experience of our team of doctors, physician assistants and nurses, will help our patients receive efficient and highquality care.”
While designed to improve efficiency, the new suite will also help to improve what is often a traumatic experience for family as well as patients. Two examples are private viewing rooms built adjacent to the resuscitation rooms that not only allow quicker access to the rooms after a patient dies, but also allows family members to view and identify the body in a quiet area away from the bustle of the department.
Meanwhile, St. Peter’s Urgent Care will open in the former emergency room at St. Mary’s Hospital at 9 a.m. Thursday — it will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, seven days a week. Staffed by emergency-trained providers, the urgent- care center will provide walk-in care for illnesses and injuries such as colds and flu, infections and skin irritations, sprains and bone fractures, cuts and wounds, asthma and bronchitis, pneumonia and tetanus and flu immunizations.
Officials bill the urgentcare center as a cost- effective alternative to emergency care, with on- site laboratory and digital X-ray facilities to help efficiently and effectively address medical problems that need to be treated right away, but are not life-threatening.