Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center breaks Ground on Emergency and Trauma Center Expansion

Boise, Idaho – Each year more than 44,000 people receive life-saving treatment in the Saint Alphonsus Emergency Department and Trauma Center in Boise. It is the region’s only Level II Trauma Center. The most seriously ill and injured patients from throughout western Idaho, eastern Oregon, and northern Nevada are brought to Saint Alphonsus for expert treatment.

A pre-Christmas Groundbreaking event takes place Tuesday, December 4^th at 11:00 A.M. in Boise as construction on the Saint Alphonsus Emergency and Trauma Center expansion gets underway. After four decades and nearly one million emergency visits, the volume and quality of care provided here – as well as patient and family expectations for privacy and comfort – has outgrown our existing facility.

The expansion of the Saint Alphonsus Emergency and Trauma Center is designed to accommodate an increasing number of patients as well as make it easier to integrate 21st-century medicine at the bedside. Changes and improvements include:

• Curtained treatment bays will be replaced with 32 private patient rooms. This will provide the capacity to accommodate a 25% increase in annual visits.
• The ER and Trauma Center will expand from 15,000 square feet to 20,255 square feet.
• Each room will be equipped to address any emergency, eliminating wait-time for specialized equipment.
• Treatment bays will be replaced by individual private patient suites. Softer lighting, sound-absorbing flooring, and a more calming environment will help accommodate the region’s senior population. 12.4% of Idaho’s current population of 1.5 million is over the age of 65 according to the 2010 Census.
• The expanded ER and Trauma Center will house the region’s only decontamination unit, a secure chamber that will allow for an isolated response to patients injured in explosions, chemical spills and other accidents involving hazardous materials; increasing safety for all patients and their medical teams.

What: Saint Alphonsus ER Trauma Center Groundbreaking

When: 11:00 A.M. Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Where: Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center, 1055 N. Curtis Road, Boise, Idaho 83706

The expansion of the Saint Alphonsus ER and Trauma Center is scheduled to be completed in the spring of 2014.

About Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center

Saint Alphonsus is a 387-licensed bed regional medical center serving people throughout the Northwest. As a not-for-profit medical center, Saint Alphonsus reinvests profits back into the community and works to improve the health and well-being of those we serve by emphasizing care that is patient-centered, innovative and community-based. Saint Alphonsus focuses on providing services in a spiritual, healing environment, and is renowned for its state-of-the-art digital environment and pioneering technologies; award-winning clinical services; and the region’s only Level II Trauma Center. Saint Alphonsus is part of Saint Alphonsus Health System, a four-hospital, 714-bed integrated healthcare system serving the full range of the health and wellness needs of the people in southwestern Idaho, eastern Oregon, and northern Nevada. Saint Alphonsus Health System is a member of Trinity Health.

For information about Saint Alphonsus visit www.saintalphonsus.org.