Inside the new emergency department

When it opens on Nov. 10, the Hixson-Lied Center for Clinical Excellence will be home to the largest emergency department in the Midwest. In fact, patients would have to travel to Chicago or Denver to find one of equal size, security and technology.

“The new emergency department is the culmination of several years of work to consolidate the emergency services at The Nebraska Medical Center,” said Robert Muelleman, M.D., medical director of The Nebraska Medical Center and professor of surgery and emergency medicine at UNMC. “Although we will have the largest emergency department in Nebraska, it will be a very secure environment staffed by 13 physicians board certified in emergency medicine and experienced emergency department nurses.”

The new emergency room, which combines separate emergency departments at Clarkson and University Towers, features 33 beds including 13 large critical care rooms, four trauma beds in one large suite and 16 exam rooms. It also has four pediatric rooms and four fast-track rooms, as well as pharmacy and radiology services.

The Nebraska Medical Center emergency department sees about 45,000 patients each year, so providing efficient and quality patient care is important. “When patients come in to the emergency department, they are typically anxious, hurt or very ill,” said Suzanne Watson, clinical manager of the emergency department. “They just want our help. We have to put many systems in place to ensure their care is expedited – such as bedside registration and a patient tracking system.”

Valet parking will add an additional dimension of ease for patients and family, Watson said.

Oxy’s handlers are Donna Hoover and Adam Bruhn.

Inside, they will meet Oxy, a trained German Shepard, stationed in the department 24 hours a day, seven days a week to assist with security and patient relations. “It doesn’t happen very often, but if a patient does become violent or they’re brought in violent, the presence of the dog often settles them down pretty quickly,” Dr. Muelleman said. “We also think it will help relax the children that will come in. So, we think she will be a very positive influence.”

The entire facility, in fact, was designed with a patient focus. “The way we designed it allows the patient to get to the room quicker, which means they’ll see the physician quicker, and that was important,” Dr. Muelleman said. “No matter where I am in the emergency department, I can look at the tracking board and find out if the results are back on the patient, so that will also improve the process.”

In addition to the new facility, the emergency department has recruited and retained a skilled group of physicians and nurses, Dr. Muelleman said. “Among our physicians we do have over 150 years of ER experience, so we’ve got a good combination of very experienced clinicians that have been doing it 20-25 years,” he said. “We’re also getting physicians who are just out of training who are up on the latest techniques and technologies.”

Two years ago, UNMC formed a residency program in emergency medicine. The first six physicians of the UNMC Emergency Medicine Residency Program began their three-year residencies in July 2004.