Adena Celebrates Opening of New Emergency Department

Adena Health System leaders, staff, community, state and federal representatives were on hand for a ceremony and ribbon cutting, celebrating the official opening of Adena Regional Medical Center’s (ARMC) newly-constructed Emergency Department.

The new Emergency Department features three times more clinical space than the former facility, which opened in 1974. The year the hospital was built. The new, state-of-the-art addition includes 59,000 square feet of space, compared to the former 16,500 square-foot Emergency Department.

“We heard you when you said ‘fix the ER,’” said Adena President and CEO Jeff Graham. “We have made a significant investment to give you – our family, 

friends and neighbors – a state-of-the-art Emergency Department that includes features never before seen in our community.” Graham added, “Not only is the building new and more appealing; for the past year, our teams have been working to develop our processes to get patients with a provider sooner and taken care of in the most efficient and effective way possible.” 

Adena’s new Emergency Department includes more than double the previous number of patient care areas, increasing from 31 to 63. It is the only ED in the region to include patient care rooms specifically designed to care for behavioral access patients, as well as those who have been victims of abuse. The facility includes dedicated trauma bays that are expandable to treat individuals, or to accommodate families when one or more member is being treated for traumatic injuries. 

Click here for updated west entrance closure and parking information. 

Members of the community had an opportunity get their first look inside the new ARMC Emergency Department during a Community Celebration on July 28.Even close to an hour before the event officially began, parents, children, grandparents, Adena employees, friends and neighbors all started descending upon the new Emergency Department and by the end of the three-hour event, more than 1,000 people were estimated to have attended.

Under perfect sunny weather conditions, the family-oriented event had fun for all ages, which included: teddy bear building & bear check-ups; the chance to meet Doc McStuffins, autographs with Chief Crazy Horse and a player from the Chillicothe Paints; the opportunity to explore a MedFlight helicopter, ambulances and police cruisers; and free hot dogs, hamburgers and snacks along with Hirsch’s famous apple cider slushies.

But what left everyone in attendance wide-eyed with amazement was touring the new Emergency Department. The behind-the-scenes tours, led by Adena’s ED caregivers, left everyone with the assurance that Adena truly offers the best in close-to-home regional health care when they need it most.“This has been a long time in the making and the crowd here today is great and we are excited to have them come out because this is their Emergency Department and their hospital,” said Graham during an interview with WKKJ Radio at the event. “We are very proud of what we built here.”  Graham added. “One of the biggest differences that anyone coming in will notice is the decor and design is beautiful, but they will notice the difference in patient rooms. In our old Emergency Department, we had curtains and open bays; very small and very tight. These new patient rooms are very spacious for families because we want them to be there with the patient because they are the ones that will be helping to take care of their family member when they go home. But what is really nice is the privacy.”

Graham would also explain how the beauty of the new Emergency Department and what people will notice most is not just in the physical building, but how internal processes within the ED are now leading to patients seeing a provider faster than national averages.

The new ARMC Emergency Department is schedule to open for patient care on Sunday, Aug. 12.

The Adena Health Foundation is continuing its capital campaign to raise funding for the entire project. Information is available at givetogrowth.adena.org.