Beaumont's New Emergency Center Opening This Month

ROYAL OAK (WWJ) - Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak will open its new Emergency Center at the end of the month.

Beaumont cares for over 130,000 patients per year in their emergency rooms. That number is growing - so they needed to expand and renovate, says WWJ Health Reporter Dr. Deanna Lites.

At a cost of more than $120 million the new state of the art emergency center will have 99 new private rooms, 54 medical observation rooms and four large trauma bays.

There's also the addition of a new rooftop helipad for easier access to the trauma center.

Senior-friendly features will be available such as grab bars to help move from standing to sitting and easy to read signs and clocks.

In designing the center, the needs of the medical staff were taken into account along with those of patients and families.

"I think the biggest thing is the level of privacy, the rooms are all private - with glass sliding doors, they are much larger than the previous department," says emergency room doctor Jamie Ziadeh. "One of the other great features of the department is that we have natural light streaming in through skylights - which is great for the environment, it's great for the staff, it helps morale, it helps families."

While no one wants to be in an emergency room, says Beaumont President Rosanna Morris, this center aims to make it a comforting experience while delivering high quality care.

"And the fact that we can create, in an emergency center, a very private, relaxing, warm environment, is typically not what emergency centers are known for," she says.

Morris say's they've listened to feedback from patients and families and have included a cafe in the emergency center lounge and have added charging stations in each room.

The center opens August 31.