The expanded emergency department at Abbotsford Regional Hospital opened Tuesday (June 8).
The $15 million expansion was announced in 2017 and features 7,200 square feet of additional floor space to help ease persistent congestion issues at the facility.
The project was funded by the provincial government through Fraser Health, with another $1.25 million for equipment provided by the Fraser Valley Health Care Foundation.
“People living in eastern Fraser Valley communities have been managing with an emergency department in the hospital that is over capacity and continually congested,” said Adrian Dix, Minister of Health.
“Our government took action to remedy this and today the new expanded emergency department will provide patients with timely emergency care in a modern space with state-of-the-art technology, and health-care workers will have the space they need to provide quality care to patients.”
RELATED: Expanded emergency department slated to open in June at Abbotsford Regional Hospital
The expanded emergency department has improved staff and patient movement and provides spaces that maximize privacy and improve infection control.
The new space includes capacity for three new trauma bays, 11 new patient exam rooms, a dedicated mental-health and substance-use zone, and a renovated triage area that includes one new patient exam room.
There were also renovations to vacated space near the mental-health and substance-use inpatient area to accommodate relocation of the psychiatric clinical decision unit.
The new space also has a redesigned registration and triage area that provides increased privacy. This includes additional lounge areas and bathrooms and a designated registration desk for emergency health services, such as ambulances.
“Our government understands that to ensure people have fast access to emergency health-care services, the work was needed at Abbotsford hospital,” said Pam Alexis, MLA for Abbotsford-Mission. “It’s exciting that we are now at the official opening of the expanded space.”
RELATED: ARH emergency department to get $15 million expansion
vhopes@abbynews.com
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