New HRH triage area opens next week

Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Elna Seabrooks
GETTING READY — Going over details in the new Houlton Regional Hospital Emergency Department waiting room opening Feb. 22 from left, are: Maintenance Manager Bart Peters, ER Nurse Manager Trish Murray and HRH Public Relations/Health Care Recruiter Janene Moran.

By Elna Seabrooks
Staff Writer
    HOULTON — Houlton Regional Hospital (HRH) embarked on a major renovation to better protect patient confidentiality and improve infection control while providing clear access to the new waiting room for its emergency department that opens next Monday. The hospital spent nearly $3 million to relocate and enhance the cardiac rehab, radiology and nuclear medicine departments in order to create its new emergency room waiting area. The total project involved 7,700 square feet.
    “If you weren’t from this area, it was confusing on how to access the emergency department. Now, it’s as clear as can be. Without a central place to report, it was really frustrating for our patients because they didn’t have anyone to tell ‘I’m here. Where do I go?’ Now it’s so clear. And, somebody will be there. We’re hoping it will be better for our patients,” said Trish Murray, Emergency Room (ER) nurse manager.
    ER’s parking and entry
    Starting Feb. 22, explained HRH Maintenance Manager Bart Peters, patients will no longer enter the emergency department through the lobby. “Emergency room patients will have their own parking area and entrance with their own reception area rather than coming in through the front. It took three years from the planning stages to completion. And, it involved 10 months of actual labor.”
    The hospital’s ambulance entry will remain the same. But, Murray added, “we have added a designated patient entrance for the emergency department.”
    Janene Moran, HRH public relations/health care recruiter, added “when you triage, sometimes you have to wait. Sometimes it’s children. And, to occupy them and to have some services available for the pediatric population is a benefit.” Triage is a process of prioritizing patients based on the severity of their condition.
    Murray explained that if a patient arrives by a private vehicle, “there is a canopy where you can drop someone off, be sheltered from the weather and then come right into the main part of the emergency room.”
    The new waiting room, about 3,400 square feet of what used to be the cardiac rehab unit, includes a children’s play area with toys, two patient waiting areas, two washrooms, a triage nurse’s office and a security office. Cardiac rehab has been relocated nearby.
    “When you first come in you will see the triage nurse who will take your medical history and your vital signs and then do the whole triage process. At night time, there will be a security officer right inside the door in the security office. The triage nurse will be able to see into the parking lot so, if you need assistance, she will come out and help you. Wheelchairs will be located just inside the door,” said Murray.
Security, confidentiality, infection control
    At 9 p.m. the main lobby will be locked and all patients and visitors will enter the hospital through the emergency department allowing the hospital to better control security. HRH sees about 40 patients a day in the ER alone, which translates into 14,000 emergency room patients a year. Most of them are seen from 11 a.m. – 11 p.m.
    Murray said a major factor in doing the renovation was to avoid having the ER population share the  waiting area with the general population. “Now, this provides more confidentiality for our patients. With the private registration and triage area, this meets our confidentiality needs.” 
Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Elna Seabrooks
NEW ENTRANCE — Covers for the columns outside the new Emergency Department  entrance have arrived. Checking them out are from left, ER Nurse Manager Trish Murray, HRH Public Relations/Health Care Recruiter Janene Moran and Maintenance Manager Bart Peters.
    By having emergency room patients in their own waiting area away from the general public, several important infection-control issues are also addressed. Additionally, Peters added: “A brand new air handling system provides proper air filtration. It’s separated from other areas in the hospital to assist in controlling the spread of germs.”
    “The nurses and staff of the ER are really excited about the changes because we think it’s going to be better for our patients in providing better services and greater patient satisfaction,” said Murray.
    During the design phase, Peters explained, user input was instrumental in the layout to achieve optimum traffic flow, especially during off-hours, “when the front-line people are here seeing patients, on weekends, nights holidays — that type of thing.”
    As for the aesthetics, final touches were being added last week like touch-up painting, patient seating and children’s toys. But, the major work had been completed including emergency lights, hand sanitizer stations at the entry as well as other strategic locations, a closed-circuit TV monitoring system, two private washrooms with a baby changing station in one of them, an office for security and one for the triage nurse.
    “The new waiting room will help us better utilize the staff that we do have more effectively,” Murray said.