Indiana's Lutheran Hospital set to kick off $6.1 million emergency department expansion

Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne, Indiana

Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne, Indiana will kick off a $6.1 million expansion and renovation project early this spring for its emergency department. The Lutheran Health Network has now invested about $20 million since 2015 in emergency department upgrades across the hospitals it operates in that region.

Much of the work will focus on the creation of an eight-bed, 3,900-square-foot transition unit located adjacent to the existing 16,600-square-foot adult ER. The new area will allow for short-term patient monitoring while freeing exam rooms when the ER is particularly busy.

Other key elements of the project include the addition of a new CT scanner in the ER for immediate access to upgraded diagnostic technology; a fifth trauma bay to accommodate multiple critical patients simultaneously; and four rooms designated as an area to quickly treat and release patients.

[Also: Mercy Health Muskegon breaks ground on $271 million expansion, renovation project]

The project will be spread out over five phases, enabling the ER to remain fully operational. Phase I will begin in April. All work is expected to be completed by October 2018.

When completed, the existing ER will have a total of 28 treatment rooms, a fifth trauma room and more workstations. The entire space will have new flooring, paint, hardware, curtains, furniture and equipment. Including the new eight-bed transition unit, the entire adult emergency department will grow to 36 beds and 20,500 square feet.

Other recent projects in Lutheran Health Network's system include an ER expansion at Dukes Memorial Hospital in Peru, which was completed in December, and the opening of Lutheran ER Statewood -- Fort Wayne's first freestanding ER -- in October.

Twitter: @JELagasse