The expansion was necessary to handle an increasing volume of patients, due in part to the closing of two neighboring hospitals in recent years as well as ongoing efforts to improve the quality of facilities and heightened levels of patient care.
“For decades, Swedish Covenant Hospital has filled the critical need for emergency treatment, providing care delivered with utmost compassion and the highest levels of medical skills and technological innovations,” said CEO Mark Newton in his opening remarks to the crowd gathered in one of the parking areas near the existing emergency department entrance.
Guests included physicians and medical staff, board members, donors, administrative personnel and other dignitaries, with special guest 5th District Congressman Rahm Emanuel also commending the efforts of Swedish Covenant to expand and improve facilities in recent years.
To see additional photos from the groundbreaking, please see SCH Emergency Room Groundbreaking.
Citing the need for major health care form throughout the United States, Emanuel expressed his personal pleasure in helping provide some $1 million in federal funding to assist in the project, working closely with U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois. The son of a pediatrician and nurse, Emanuel reiterated his commitment to push for investments in medical care for residents on the north side of Chicago.
“Recent developments make meeting the daily, around-the-clock mission in the emergency department much more challenging,” Newton observed, paying special attention to the two hospital closings. “We have witnessed an astounding 117 percent annual increase in ambulance visits and our patient count in the emergency room now exceeds more than 41,000 annually,” he noted.
“At the same time, we have expanded many of our services, such as those in the cardiovascular and interventional radiology areas,” he continued. “Without question, these represent positive, valuable expansions of what we offer to patients. Yet, the broadening of such capabilities also contributes to an escalation in emergency department visits. The numbers I just cited dramatically illustrate this absolute fact: the Swedish Covenant Hospital emergency department is bursting at the seams. We needed to take action to meet these current patient levels and prepare for future growth. Today’s event marks a significant step in that response.”
Plans include doubling the size of the emergency department (adding 11,000 square feet), including:
- Ten additional examination rooms to better accommodate the increase in patient visits and reduce waiting time
- A home-like décor and enhanced visitor lounge
- An enlarged patient triage area to ensure privacy
- Air treatment system to strengthen response to public health threats
- Separate entrances for ambulances and pedestrians to facilitate traffic flow and enhance privacy
“In essence, a new healing environment will be created, providing the elements our medical staff needs, yet with an emphasis on incorporating amenities for patients. Everything planned and designed will offer comfort and convenience for patients and their families,” Newton concluded.
Swedish Covenant Hospital, which is part of Covenant Ministries of Benevolence (CMB) of the Evangelical Covenant Church, has served residents on Chicago’s north wide for more than 120 years. To learn more about the emergency room expansion, call 773-878-6888 or visit the SCH website at www.SwedishCovenant.org\ER+.
(Editor’s note: top photos show Emanuel, left, and Newton. Lower photo shows, from left: Rep. Emanuel, 5th Congressional District; David Dwight, CMB president; David Putnam, SCH board chair; Dr. Bruce McNulty, emergency department chair; a representative of the general contractor; and Newton.)
Copyright © 2011 The Evangelical Covenant Church.
