Access To ER Will Change As Construction Continues
As work continues on the new nursing home at Mountrail Bethel Home in Stanley, another phase of construction is slated to start on Monday, Apr. 14.
The work on the ambulance bay and the new entrance and dedicated waiting room for the emergency room will get underway, meaning that there will be a change to how both ambulances and patients access the emergency room until the work is complete.
Crews from McGough will be putting up fencing around the current entrance and the parking lot starting on April 14, meaning that the doors patients are accustomed to using will no longer be available. Actual construction is slated to begin on April 21.
Patients accessing the emergency room will now enter through Door 4 on the west side of the building. There is already a ramp there for access for patients with mobility issues.
A new door will be put in to the south of that, along with a new ramp, for ambulance personnel to use when bringing patients to the emergency room. There will be areas marked as no parking on that west side of the building to assure there will be easy access for ambulances. Patients using the ER will be asked to use the other side of the street.
There will be new temporary signage and lighting to help both patients and ambulances find their way to the correct doors.
The work is being done to expand the ambulance bay to accommodate the now larger sizes of ambulances. Because they have gotten larger, they often do not have the ability to fully pull into the bay and close the door as they unload patients into the emergency room. This can be a challenge, especially during the winter. It also affects patient privacy.
Construction will also include a new emergency room waiting room. This new secured area will be dedicated to those waiting for patients who are in the emergency room. In addition to providing this additional space, it will also secure access into the hospital wing which is currently open when people enter through the emergency room door.
If all goes according to schedule, the new emergency room entrance, ambulance bay and emergency waiting room should be completed in early October.