The new facility, which has been five years in planning and construction, and was built as part of a 99 million dollar renovation to the hospital, officially began receiving patients as of 4 am on Thursday, December 7. Samaritan is part of the St. Peter’s Health Partners (SPHP) system and provides one of the three main emergency rooms serving the central and eastern portions of Rensselaer County. The other two being the Southwest Vermont Medical Center in Bennington and the Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. According to SPHP Chief Executive Officer Norman Dascher Jr., the new ER features state of the art technology, and includes the region’s first Senior Emergency Room. SPHP President Dr. James K. Reed says “the new emergency department will provide a higher level of care and compassion than ever before to Troy and the surrounding communities. This milestone would not have been possible without the support, talents and dedication of so many people.”
The new emergency room is four times larger than the previous facility, built in the mid-1990s. It can accommodate up to 72,000 patient visits yearly, nearly double the capacity of the older department. It features three triage rooms and a total of 44 patient treatment spaces, of which six are for behavioral health, five rapid assessment areas, two two-bed resuscitation rooms and 29 private patient exam rooms, five of these are dedicated to senior care. Some of the newer amenities listed include bedside registration, televisions and a family gathering room. There is also a separate ambulance entrance away from walk-in patients.
Big Changes at St. Mary’s as Well
Troy’s other hospital, St. Mary’s, will no longer offer Emergency Room services, but will become an Urgent Care Facility, open from 9 am to 9 pm, seven days a week, on a walk-in basis. According to CEO Daschler, the St. Mary’s site will be staffed by providers experienced in the care of acute illness and injury, for people who would benefit from some immediate attention, but whose ailment is not severe enough for a trip to the emergency department. Mr. Daschler also tells The Eastwick Press they are consolidating a number of the two hospitals services at St. Mary’s, including the new cancer center and women’s health center. They will also be offering medical respite services for homeless patients, and continuing with endoscopy and radiological procedures, as well as renovating the two top floors for the combined hospital’s business offices.