Heartbeat [1996]

              JANUARY, 1996
WESLEfLCX\lg C^E/DO - Continuing our tradition of providing
compassionate care for our patients and families, we dedicate ourselves daily
to the values of Service "Excellence and innovative, cost effective services.
FROM THE DESK OF TIM CLONTZ
While talk continues of decreasing revenues for health care services and the need for changing the
system, certain health care needs continue to grow and to prosper. One of these growth areas is
Emergency Services. Our current Emergency Department was designed in the mid-1980's for
25,000 visits; construction was completed in 1990. For the fiscal year ending September 30, 1995,
our Emergency Department personnel provided care to 37, 682 patients and their families.
The Emergency Department Expansion/Renovation Project will expand the Emergency Department to support in excess of 45,000 visits annually. The new department has been designed to
provide patients and their families with the same amenities and accommodations found in a private
physician's office. For instance, the triage (prioritization of care for patients based on medical
need) area is designed to be comparable to the front desk area of a physician's office, while the
stretcher area for triage is just out of view. This physician/clinic design also will support using a
portion of this space in the future as an outpatient clinic when healthcare restructuring results in
fewer Emergency Department visits.
Site work on the expansion phase of the project has begun, with an expected completion date of
June 1996. Once this phase is completed, the Emergency Department staff will provide care for
patients in the new area and portions of the current department while the current department is
under renovation. The entire project should be completed, barring significant delays, by October
1996.
Design work on the proposed Medical Office Building (MOB) continues. The proposed MOB will
be placed on the campus, probably in the area between the Outpatient Lot and the Visitor/
Employee Lot. The building will be placed in a manner which maximizes physician and patient
access to the Hospital.
The architects, Moser Mayer Phoenix Associates, P.A., will complete schematic drawings later this
month. The schematics will provide physicians a representative floor plan and conceptual design
of the exterior of the building. It is anticipated that construction could start in April, and the first
tenant occupy the building in early 1997, provided sufficient interest is present.
Wesley Long will continue to meet the needs expressed by our patients, their families and physi-
cians in our community.	
THANKS BLOOD DONORS
The Education Department would like to
thank all those who participated in
December's Blood Drive. Thirty-five
people volunteered to donate blood with
one first-time giver. Thanks again to all
of you.
QUALITY CORNER
Congratulations to the January 1996 graduates of
the Quality Team Member Workshop. They are:
Debbie Brown
Wanda Clontz
Yvonne Clontz
Sharon Key
Tony Makin
Robert May
Karen Meyers
Fransina Miller
Sue Nicholson
Jo Plybon
Becky Williams
AWesley Long Community Hospital Staff Publication