Catskill Regional Medical Center (CRMC) can officially boast the rebirth of our hospital as Phase One of the Emergency Room (ER) project is now complete.
Thanks to new and invigorated leadership, gone are the days of bad health care and poor management.
Remarkably the landmark $6 million ER project was made possible without costing the hospital any money.
State Senator John Bonacic secured almost $2.5 million in state funding for the construction and equipment; Alan Gerry and The Gerry Foundation contributed almost $2.5 million; Congressman Maurice Hinchey secured $300,000 and the Rural Health Access Grant enabled $200,000 for equipment. Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther was also instrumental in the project.
Once completed in February, the entire ER will be twice as large, with eight fast-track rooms for rapid assessment and treatment of minor injuries, and 16 dedicated treatment rooms for care of serious injuries. The expansion and reconfiguration will ease patient flow and help reduce patient wait times, in addition to improving patient comfort, privacy and amenities.
The newly expanded ER provides Sullivan County with enhanced patient environment, including on-site security and private treatment rooms with flat-screen LCD TVs, new technology for diagnostic testing and advanced emergency care, wireless bedside monitoring increasing patient comfort, and a private consultation room for families dealing with grief or an emergency situation.
Discussing how important it is that we have a well functioning ER, Bonacic told me, “Throughout one’s life, if you live in Sullivan County, in times of crisis, you will need quality emergency care. Chances are you or someone you know will find yourself at CRMC’s emergency room at some point in your life. Alan Gerry and I put together the new ER at CRMC simply because it was needed.”
Praising Gerry, Bonacic added, “I wish I had an Alan and Sandra Gerry in every County I represent, because with people willing to make private donations to match or surpass public funds, you can raise the quality of life for all people in the region. Now, CRMC is stronger. It’s relationship with Orange Regional has strengthened both facilities, and people can receive high quality emergency care, in modern emergency rooms across both Sullivan and Orange Counties (Orange has a new hospital with a new ER which Alan and Sandra Gerry also helped make happen). It is a win for the people, and what public service is all about.”
Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther, a former nurse at CRMC, noted, “After more than three decades it was time that the ER was expanded. Having worked at the hospital for many years and seeing the cramped conditions in the ER, I know this expansion will only improve patient care and efficiency. I congratulate the board of directors and all the staff who have worked to make this a reality.”
Gerald Skoda, chairman of CRMC’s Board of Directors called the ER’s completion “an exciting time. I applaud the hospital and everyone who has been working together to advance patient care for our community.”
CRMC’s spokesman JP McGuirk said the newly expanded ER will “ease patient flow and help reduce wait times, ultimately enhancing the level of service the hospital provides to meet the community’s needs.”
May none of us ever require the services of the new ER, but it is good to know it is there.