Emergency Department

Johns Hopkins Health System plans to open a $35 million expanded emergency department at Bayview Medical Center by January 2014, followed by a new oncology wing for its lung cancer treatment program. Preliminary plans for the expansion at the eastern Baltimore campus — which eventually would also include a seven-story hospital tower — were presented for review Thursday to the city's Urban Design and Architecture Review Panel. Bayview needs an expanded emergency department to meet growing community needs, said Michael Iati, senior director of architecture and planning for the health system.

The lack of mental health resources in the United States has contributed to a significant increase in visits to the emergency department ("How to care for mentally ill people?" Jan. 8). Psychiatric emergencies grew by 131 percent between 2000 and 2007, according to a recent study. Psychiatric patients often "board" in the hallways of emergency department for several days, waiting for inpatient psychiatric services. This contributes to overcrowding which harms everyone. Emergency physicians are dedicated to providing a medical home for any patient who can't access medical care including people with health insurance who are unable to get timely appointments with their primary care physicians.

A $1.5 million expansion of Franklin Square Hospital Center's emergency department gets under way tomorrow with groundbreaking ceremonies for a project that is expected to nearly double the size of the hospital's emergency room.The project is expected to be completed in two phases, with a newly constructed waiting room area to open in April 1992 and a renovated emergency area to be completed by October 1992. The construction will allow the emergency department to grow from 10,000 square feet to 18,500 square feet, officials said.

A Baltimore County police officer's weapon discharged as he struggled with a prisoner receiving treatment at University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson on Wednesday, police said. The officer was guarding a prisoner arrested in connection with a burglary who was receiving medical treatment in the hospital's emergency room, according to police. Police said an altercation broke out after hospital workers discovered the prisoner was hiding a needle in his clothing and the man grabbed a hospital staff member.

Linda Teixeira, of Laurel, is no stranger to emergency rooms. Her daughter is on dialysis and has other related health issues that require emergency care on a regular basis. What is new for Teixeira is that on this particular evening, she's waiting for her daughter in Laurel Regional Hospital's waiting room. "We live up the street and could walk here, but she was here a couple of times in the past and the service wasn't good, so we had been going to Howard General," Teixeira said.

Carroll County General Hospital will break ground today on the first phase of an $80 million expansion - the largest in its 40-year history - that includes an enlarged emergency department and a four-story tower. The additions and improvements, approved by the Maryland Health Care Commission in January, will help the Westminster hospital meet the medical needs of a fast-growing county, hospital officials said. As part of the groundbreaking, the 172-bed hospital will launch Fulfilling the Promise, a campaign to raise $8 million in private funds for the project.

A little Nordstrom. A little Disney. A little Mayo Clinic.In designing its glitzy new emergency room, Sinai Hospital is "trying to marry sophisticated clinical care with an exaggerated sense of caring for the whole family," says Warren A. Green, Sinai's president and chief executive officer.The $16 million emergency department, which will begin treating patients Dec. 16, will offer valet parking, private waiting rooms and a concierge, who can arrange baby-sitting or dog-walking for harried families (and who can be reached by videophone)

A super-sized emergency department at Howard County General Hospital is set to open its doors next week, marking the completion of a piece of a $33.5 million expansion that should wrap up next spring. Promoted by hospital officials as "bigger and better," the 24,000-square-foot facility is expected to have far-reaching effects on emergency medical care in the fast-growing county. "We hope that patients and families will have a better overall experience and a quicker stay in a nicer environment," said Victor A. Broccolino, president and chief executive officer of Howard County General Hospital.

Vernon Lyon has some experience with emergency rooms. He has four kids. So when his daughter Sydni recently slipped on the stairs and hurt her foot, he thought he was in for some serious time in a hospital waiting room. But the Parkville dad went to St. Joseph Medical Center, where officials have been working to cut "door to doc" time. The community hospital in Towson is one of several in the area — and one of many across the country — working to reduce wait times for patients who come in with less-than-deadly conditions.

The University of Maryland Medical Center has earned international recognition for its shock trauma center, which treats patients with severe injuries. Now the medical center is becoming home to the National Trauma and Emergency Medicine Training Center, which will prepare military and civilian health care workers to deliver Shock Trauma's caliber of care. The training center, the first in the country, will be part of a $160 million expansion that the medical center's leaders plan to build in downtown Baltimore starting this spring and open in 2013.

Most roads were cleared of snow and fallen trees in Garrett County as of late Sunday, and most federal and state emergency officials who'd responded there following superstorm Sandy's damaging blizzard had departed. Still, thousands remained without power. "The only thing that's still lacking, as far as I understand it, is power restoration, and that's a slow, tedious process because of the damage that's been done and because of the vastness of Garrett County," said Jim Raley, chairman of the county's Board of Commissioners.

Linda Teixeira, of Laurel, is no stranger to emergency rooms. Her daughter is on dialysis and has other related health issues that require emergency care on a regular basis. What is new for Teixeira is that on this particular evening, she's waiting for her daughter in Laurel Regional Hospital's waiting room. "We live up the street and could walk here, but she was here a couple of times in the past and the service wasn't good, so we had been going to Howard General," Teixeira said.

Johns Hopkins Bayview campus plans to begin construction on a new $40 million emergency department annex on April 1, and some roads will be closed while work is being done. Nathan Shock Drive will be closed from Bayview Boulevard to Bioscience Drive. Maryland Transit Administration bus stops will also close at the blue awning, at the Bayview Medical Offices entrance, and on Nathan Shock Drive, by the emergency department. Bus 22 and Bus 30 will be rerouted with stops at Hopkins Bayview Circle.

The state plans to open its sixth hospital-based domestic violence program in Hagerstown, officials said today. Other programs have been opened in Baltimore-area hospitals and this will be the first in Western Maryland, according to Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown, who has worked to expand programs since 2008 when his cousin was killed in 2008 by an estranged boyfriend. He joined advocates and officials in announcing the program at Meritus Medical Center., which will be funded with $50,000 in state grant money and $16,000 from CareFirst Blue Cross Blue Shield for the first year.

Johns Hopkins Health System plans to open a $35 million expanded emergency department at Bayview Medical Center by January 2014, followed by a new oncology wing for its lung cancer treatment program. Preliminary plans for the expansion at the eastern Baltimore campus — which eventually would also include a seven-story hospital tower — were presented for review Thursday to the city's Urban Design and Architecture Review Panel. Bayview needs an expanded emergency department to meet growing community needs, said Michael Iati, senior director of architecture and planning for the health system.

Upper Chesapeake Health (UCH) is a community-based integrated, non-profit health system serving Harford County and surrounding areas. It owns and operates Harford Memorial Hospital in Havre de Grace, Upper Chesapeake Medical Center and Upper Chesapeake Health Foundation. UCH is the leading health care system and largest private employer in Harford County with 2,700 team members and over 550 medical staff physicians. Harford Memorial Hospital (HMH) in historic Havre de Grace, MD has served the Harford County community for over 100 years old. Today, the population stands at nearly 250,000 and Harford Memorial has a newly renovated facility that offers a full complement of medical, diagnostic and emergency care services.

Johns Hopkins Bayview campus plans to begin construction on a new $40 million emergency department annex on April 1, and some roads will be closed while work is being done. Nathan Shock Drive will be closed from Bayview Boulevard to Bioscience Drive. Maryland Transit Administration bus stops will also close at the blue awning, at the Bayview Medical Offices entrance, and on Nathan Shock Drive, by the emergency department. Bus 22 and Bus 30 will be rerouted with stops at Hopkins Bayview Circle.

Carroll County General Hospital's largest expansion project is on schedule as it reaches the halfway point of its first phase. Steel beams that form the skeleton for what will be a new emergency department, along with a makeshift lobby and relocated offices, are some of the signs that work is well under way on the $80 million project. The first phase of the expansion is in line to meet its projected October completion date, said Maurice E. Spielman, the Westminster hospital's director of facilities.

As the population of Howard County has grown, so have the health care resources available to residents. Over the past decade, Kaiser Permanente, the nation's largest health maintenance organization, opened a 17,500-square-foot center in Columbia Gateway Park, and Howard County General Hospital tripled the size of its emergency department and upgraded the obstetrics and neonatal intensive care units through a $34 million expansion. Also, Sheppard Pratt at Ellicott City opened as a private hospital specializing in mental health programs for children and adults.

Vernon Lyon has some experience with emergency rooms. He has four kids. So when his daughter Sydni recently slipped on the stairs and hurt her foot, he thought he was in for some serious time in a hospital waiting room. But the Parkville dad went to St. Joseph Medical Center, where officials have been working to cut "door to doc" time. The community hospital in Towson is one of several in the area — and one of many across the country — working to reduce wait times for patients who come in with less-than-deadly conditions.