Vision 2010

Each year, the emergency departments at UHCMC treat some 73,000 adult and pediatric patients, making UH the second busiest emergency department in Northeast Ohio. The current space, however, was built to serve only 40,000 patients annually. In an effort to continue to serve patients in need of emergency treatment, UH will renovate and more than double the square footage of the emergency departments at UHCMC and Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital. The 23,000-square-foot Center for Emergency Medicine will be expanded to 54,000 square feet, and the number of available beds will increase from 41 to approximately 55. The emergency department also will have improved patient access and state-of-the art diagnostic and laboratory capabilities to expedite and improve patient care.

Current statistics:

• The current Pediatric and Adult Emergency Department of University Hospitals Case Medical Center is the second busiest emergency department in Northeast Ohio.


• 73,000 adult and pediatric patients are treated annually at UHCMC’s emergency department.
• Rainbow is one of only three children’s hospitals in Ohio with a Level I trauma center designation.
• Fifty percent of all adult admissions to the hospital come through the emergency department making it in many ways the “ front door” to UHCMC for thousands of patients.

Why the need for renovation?

• The current 22,000-square-foot facility is not large enough to meet the increasing patient volume.
• Built in the late 1970s to serve an annual census of 40,000 patients, the emergency department struggles to meet the needs of some 73,000 patients who now come through the doors annually.
• The entrance to the emergency department is difficult to find, tucked away at the back of the hospital.
• Parking for the emergency department is insufficient.

Renovation plans

• The estimated $45-million Center for Emergency Medicine (CEM) will accommodate the more than 80,000 anticipated visits by area residents of all ages, races, and income levels, and it will be a state-of-the-art emergency medicine facility designed to maximize patient comfort, privacy and safety.
• Expansion plans call for more than doubling the current space for emergency medicine from 22,000 to 54,000 square feet. Bed capacity will increase to approximately 55 beds plus a proposed eight chest pain observation beds, up from 41 adult and pediatric beds today.
• The new plan focuses on the efficiency of design rather than simply expanded space.
• The new CEM will offer direct and convenient drive-up access from Euclid Avenue, and provide easier entry for patients. There will be one point of entry for EMS patients, separated from walk-in and drive-up patients. A new triage area will be designed for greater efficiency.
• The adult and pediatric emergency departments will be adjacent with separate dedicated spaces for pediatric and adult emergency medicine, ultimately ensuring that children are kept separate from adult areas; each area will be staffed with specialists and equipment to meet the special needs of pediatric and adult patients.
• Patient rooms in the new CEM will be large enough to allow for in-room waiting of family members.

Center for Emergency Medicine Facts

• Most radiology and lab services needed by emergency patients will be provided within the CEM, thus minimizing the need for patients to be transported throughout the hospital for testing.
• The CEM will increase to five trauma/resuscitation rooms, which will each be equipped to handle two patients in a mass casualty event.
• Space will be designated to provide for immediate activation of the stroke team and rapid response cardiac care with laboratory, X-ray and CT scan on site.
• Rainbow will remain a Level I pediatric trauma center.
• The CEM will have bioterrorism capabilities that include isolation rooms, decontamination rooms and expanded trauma rooms.
• The CEM will have the capability to “flex up” to a potential maximum of 90 patient-care areas for quick response in the event of a disaster involving mass-casualties.
• Staff will be equipped and trained in the region’s only disaster-prepared emergency medical facility.
• The EMS command systems will be enhanced, building on UH’s leadership role in routing ambulance services.
• The Transfer and Referral Center will be upgraded with increased space, new equipment and enhanced operations.
• Rapidcare for both adult and pediatric patients will be included in the new CEM for nonemergenc urgent care services to ease congestion.
• The CEM will be located next to a new 800- 1,000 car garage, allowing for nearby parking of families; EMS will have separate access to the CEM.