Wooster Community Hospital to host open house for new emergency center

Wooster Community Hospital invites everyone to an open house Feb. 14 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for a first look at the new Richard and Donna Smetzer Emergency Center. The new construction will enlarge, enhance and expand not only the hospital’s emergency services, but also patient services in a variety of ways.

Scott A. Boyes, president and chief executive officer of WCH, said several years ago the hospital’s vision statement was expanded to include the goal of becoming a regional health care provider of choice.

“Central to that vision,” Boyes said, “was a thoughtful, long-term, strategic facilities plan — one that included building new, state-of-the-art health care facilities in Wooster and, over time, redeveloping the existing main campus. The new Richard and Donna Smetzer Emergency Center represents one of the final and most important pieces of that plan.”

The new emergency center positions the department closer to the patient tower and other critical hospital services, thus improving efficiency, care coordination and the overall patient experience.

“The project was never just about building a larger emergency room,” Boyes said. “It challenged our organization to think more broadly about access to care — beyond bricks and mortar. As a result more patient-focused services are now located on the ground floor and closer to the front door including lab, imaging, customer service and access to medical records. We are also leveraging technology to improve timely access to care through tools such as enhanced scheduling options and self-check-in.”

Shelly J. Huff, chief nursing officer and chief operating officer of the hospital, said, “The last renovation of the current ER space was in 2005, which could reasonably accommodate approximately 15,000 patient visits per year. Today, with approximately 30,000 visits annually, we have far exceeded that capacity. Additionally, the practice of emergency medicine and the needs of our community have evolved considerably.”

The new center is redesigned to meet these changing needs and enhances and expands services across many areas.

Key features of the new department include an observation unit for extended patient monitoring, enhanced security for patients and staff, a dedicated behavioral health area, a multi-use decontamination room for patients who are contagious or contaminated, a discharge lounge to wait for final paperwork or test results, streamlined triage, expanded telehealth capabilities, and separate entrances for walk-in patients and EMS squads.

Huff said the building project also offered an opportunity to rethink the way patients and visitors navigate through the hospital campus.

“As part of updating our signage,” she said, “the hospital implemented a color-coded campus layout and a redesigned wayfinding system, making navigation more intuitive and patient- and family-friendly — another important step in improving access.”

The celebration of the opening of the Richard and Donna Smetzer Emergency Center will begin at 10 a.m. outside under the emergency center canopy. A banner will mark the location, and heaters will be provided. After opening remarks and a ribbon cutting, attendees will be invited to a self-guided tour of the new facilities. After the tour Travelin’ Tom’s Coffee truck will offer a complimentary cookie and beverage.

The new hospital entrance and emergency center will officially open Feb. 25 at 7 a.m. The hospital will run both emergency rooms for a period until the existing location may be safely closed.

Find WCH online at www.woosterhospital.org.

“Our hospital is truly community-owned, as evidenced by the many individuals and organizations that invested financially to help the hospital successfully complete this project, for which we are very grateful,” Boyes said. “This facility was built with the future in mind as we continue to see Wooster and Wayne County grow. We believe we owe it to our community an opportunity to see this exciting new facility that will serve our community and region for decades to come.”