Construction Update
Santa Monica – UCLA Medical Center ER to Open First

Project officials now expect that construction of the new Nethercutt Emergency Center at Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center will be completed in late 2006, with move-in targeted for early 2007.

The 14,000-square-foot facility will be located on the ground floor of the Southwest Wing, which is currently taking shape on 16th Street, just north of Arizona Avenue. It will contain several innovative features to enable Santa Monica-UCLA to better serve the almost 30,000 patients a year who seek emergency care at the hospital.

Dr. Wally Ghurabi, medical director of the Emergency Center, says that first and foremost among the innovations is an on-site 64-slice helical CT scanner that will minimize patient transport and enable more timely and accurate diagnosis of various ailments, such as stroke, chest pain and breathing disorders.

“One of the biggest complaints about emergency centers in general is the long waits while more seriously ill patients are taken care of first,” he adds. “In our new ER, we will have the capability of providing fast-track service to patients with minor injuries and illnesses,” adds Dr. Ghurabi.

The new facility also will allow for more efficient and compassionate care, thanks to its updated design featuring a centralized work station, an observation unit where patients can be continuously monitored before being admitted to the hospital or discharged home and exam rooms that offer more privacy and greater versatility for diagnosis and treatment.

When the new Emergency Center opens, it will trigger a series of events instrumental to the completion of the new Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center and Orthopaedic Hospital.

First, the existing ER facility will be demolished. Then, construction will begin on the Central Wing, which will connect all of the buildings that comprise the new medical campus. The Central Wing will feature a new main entrance containing an airport-style drop-off zone for improved hospital access.

This phase of construction will require the closure of the current main entrance on 16th Street for approximately 18 months. During the closure, the main entrance will shift to 15th Street.

Meanwhile, the remainder of the Southwest Wing, which will house a new Birthing Center, Neonatal Intensive-Care Unit, Recovery Room and inpatients units, is scheduled for completion in mid-2007. A new, state-of-the-art laboratory will open with the Emergency Center on the building’s basement level.