Sparrow Clinton breaks ground on new Emergency Department

Published: July 16, 2013

Sparrow Clinton Hospital in St. Johns plans to transform the delivery of health care in Clinton County by building a $5.4 million, state-of-the-art Emergency Services Department.

Community leaders and donors joined Sparrow administrators and caregivers July 16 for a special groundbreaking ceremony to kick-off the first phase of construction.

"Each year, more than 14,000 people seek emergency care at Sparrow Clinton Hospital," says Sparrow Clinton Hospital President & CEO Ed Bruun. "Our existing facility was built to manage care for 8,000 visits. For today's standards, three treatment rooms and three curtained bays are simply not enough to ensure patient privacy and efficient patient flow."

At 9,935 square feet, the new emergency services facility is three times the size of the existing department. Design highlights include:

  • Eight private treatment rooms: one of which is a decontamination/isolation room and two of which are designed to meet needs of children
  • Two trauma rooms for treatment of life-threatening emergencies
  • A spacious, comfortable Lobby expressly for emergency patients
  • A centralized Patient Care Coordination Center
  • A triage room
  • An observation room with reclining chairs and televisions
  • A family consultation room for private conversations with physicians
  • A separate entrance with covered drive-through for dropping off and picking up patients
  • A separate, covered ambulance entrance
  • A private decontamination entrance for health situations involving hazardous materials

"Building this new, first-class emergency facility will provide a readily accessible, technologically advanced healing environment for our community, and give our patients and their families the very best in local health care when care is most needed," adds Bruun.

Construction of the new state-of-the-art department is slated to begin in August 2013. Sparrow Clinton Hospital anticipates completion of the build in June 2014.

The new Emergency Services facility will be located on the southwest corner of the hospital in the area presently housing the mobile MRI and a secondary parking lot next to the hospital pharmacy and physician practices in the Medical Professional Building. The MRI will be relocated prior to site preparation and pharmacy patrons and Sparrow St. Johns Professional Associates patients will be redirected to parking by the main entrance of the Medical Professional Building.

The hospital launched a "quiet" fundraising campaign in December 2012. As a result, more than $1 million has already been pledged by corporations, businesses, private donors and hospital caregivers to complete the build. The campaign has set a goal of $1.3 million in total community fundraising.

For more information about the project or to make a donation, please call the Sparrow Clinton Hospital Foundation at 989.227.3396.