By Ryan Ginard | SDUN Reporter 
Community leaders recently cut the ribbon to the Conrad Prebys Emergency and Trauma Center at Scripps Mercy Hospital in Hillcrest, dedicating the new facility, which opened Jan. 19. The new Center is phase two of a multi-phase expansion project, which will eventually yield a new emergency department.
Currently operating one of the busiest emergency departments in the county, the Scripps Emergency Department currently assists more than 60,000 patients and treats another 2,500 annually through their Level 1 Trauma Service. Once completed, the new Emergency Department will boast a 27,000-square-foot, 49-bed Emergency and Trauma Center, doubling the current size.
The new Trauma Center will allow patients access to private patient rooms, a department-dedicated CT scanner, a new Telemetry System providing continuous wireless monitoring capabilities within the emergency department and a dedicated laboratory for faster testing and access to those results.
Scripps Mercy President and CEO Chris Van Gorder said, “It is through the generosity of donors like Conrad Prebys that Scripps Mercy San Diego has been able to expand our emergency and trauma services and update our facility to meet the growing health care needs of the community we serve.”
A Level 1 Trauma Center is the highest designation for trauma care assigned by the American College of Surgeons.
Scripps’s Emergency Department Medical Director, Dr. Valerie Norton, said expansion plans were necessary to keep up to date with rapid technological innovations in the sector and the continued demand for higher standards of care.
“Expanding the Emergency Department to include state-of-the-art technology and equipment will result in superior patient care and see a decrease in waiting times,” Norton said. “Once all the upgrades are completed we will see the Emergency Department be transformed into one of the region’s premier units.”
Phase one of this expansion consisted of straightening out the portion of the Fifth Avenue directly in front of the hospital street, which leads to the emergency department.
With the Prebys Emergency and Trauma Center now open, phase three can commence. Phase three involves shutting down half of the remaining emergency department for remodel and renovation. The new Trauma Center and half the remaining emergency department will be available for patients. Once that half has been renovated, the second half will be closed to complete the renovations.
For more information on the final phases of the Scripps Mercy Expansion visit Scripps.org
