By Kyle LoJacono
The ambulance that was part of the groundbreaking of Pasco Regional Medical Center’s expanded emergency department almost did not make it in time.
The ambulance had to go out on call in Zephyrhills and did not get back until 10 minutes before the ceremony began, a near absence that illustrates the growing need for emergency services in east Pasco County.
“There’s certainly an increasing demand for emergency services,” said Gary Lang, Pasco Regional’s CEO. “It’s happening all across the country. I think it’s because a lot of people don’t have primary care physicians anymore, so they use the emergency room in many ways as their primary care physicians. We’re certainly willing and able to take care of all those folks and we will also have the ability to treat more people with strokes and chest pains and similar problems.”
Lang said the existing ER sees nearly 20,000 visitors each year.
“Now we’ll have the capacity to see 30,000-35,000 easily,” Lang said.
The multi-million dollar project began Feb. 9 and will take about nine months to complete.
A hospital spokeswoman said the expansion has been in the works for about two years and will be in what is now the parking lot in front of the ER. It will add 8,400 square feet to the existing 4,300 in the department, create eight new examination rooms and put in dedicated imaging equipment, said Katie Bryant.
“It’s going to facilitate getting patients seen quicker,” said Dr. Petros Tsambiras, chief of staff at the hospital. “It will make things much faster.”
Part of that speed will come from the additional space, but also the new equipment.
“We’ll have a dedicated CT scan for the ER,” Lang said. “We actually average from the time someone walks in the door to the time they leave less than 2.5 hours. The national average is somewhere between three and 3.5 hours. Those ancillary services in the new ER will help with that speed.”
Pasco Regional is owned by Health Management Associates (HMA), which has 54 hospitals in 15 states. The parent company’s president and CEO Gary Newsome said the expansion fits in line with what HMA is doing nationally.
“HMA is right now spending $300 million in expansion and renovation projects around the country,” Newsome said. “We have confidence in our communities and we believe in this community here. That’s why we’re spending money in this economy, but it’s not the bricks and mortar that make a hospital like this great. It’s the people here.”
Newsome surprised one of those hospital employees at the groundbreaking ceremony. He said he had been reading positive comments from patients about the ER and noticed registered nurse Sharon McKendree’s name on several. He brought her up to the podium and thanked her.
Lang pointed out that the expansion is just one of several upgrades the hospital has made in the last year. Pasco Regional opened a catheter lab for heart treatment last November.
“We actually did four catheters today,” Lang said.
The hospital will also apply for designation as a chest pain center in June. Once the expansion opens, one of the exam rooms will be dedicated to chest pain, while others will be for pediatrics, trauma and stroke treatments. Pasco Regional already has a designation as a stroke center.
Also, in October the hospital became the first in east or central Pasco to install a robotic system to perform surgeries. Since then, Pasco Regional has performed 60 surgeries with the technology.
“It’s really exciting right now,” Tsambiras said. “There have been a lot of improvements and this is one of the biggest ways we can give better treatment to patients and that’s the main goal.”
Pasco Regional’s emergency expansion
Adding 8,400-square-feet of space
Adding eight exam rooms
Adding new imaging equipment
Renovating the existing 4,300 square feet
Set for completion in 275 days
