Franciscan Health Crawfordsville Opens Emergency Department And Breast Center And Radiology Space

CRAWFORDSVILLE, Indiana - Franciscan Health Crawfordsville is set to open its new Emergency Department by 4 a.m. on Thursday, August 3.

The Emergency Department came in under budget and ahead of schedule. After major construction was completed, contractors developed a staging period, where the new area was cleaned and equipped with furniture and new technology.

The square footage of the Emergency Department expanded from about 3,500 to 15,000 square feet. This will provide the department with ample space to care for patients. Not only will the area be larger, but the facility will have the ability to hold more patients with the 15 patient care rooms, including two trauma bays, two OBGYN rooms with private bathrooms and a seclusion room for patients facing mental health challenges. These rooms will be much larger and will include newer technology than the previous ED rooms. The new CT scan, which has already been installed, will be centrally located for quick access. The supply room in the new ED will also have a central location, which will give quick and easy access to staff members. Included in the new ED is the addition of a new ambulance garage, which will have the ability to hold two ambulances. This will provide shelter for patients when being transported in inclement weather.

In addition, there will be a larger waiting area, a quiet room for families, additional restroom facilities for patients and families. Additional features in the Emergency Department include negative air flow rooms and a decontamination shower area in the ambulance garage. Additional and larger office space and break rooms have been designed for employees, physicians and first responders.

The expanded ED also includes a new registration area, which will go live on August 3. There will be a main desk through the main doors for patients being admitted to the ED, but there will also be registration desks to the left of the main entrance that will provide registration services to patients.

New signage has been installed at various locations around the hospital campus and on the exterior of the hospital to assist patients and their families and caregivers in navigation around the campus.

A blessing and dedication ceremony for the new Emergency Department is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, August 1. During the ceremony, a ribbon cutting will be conducted by the Crawfordsville/Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce. A community open house will be from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, August 1.

During the open house, the community will be able to walk around the new $10 million Emergency Department, interact with employees and take a tour of the new area, as well as the Breast Center/Radiology expansion. Franciscan Health Crawfordsville is relocating the Breast Center from the Diagnostic and Surgical Center at 1660 Lafayette Road the week of July 24; it will reopen to patients on Monday, July 31.

Diagnostic Services To Move To New Breast Center Inside Hospital

Diagnostic services for women currently housed in the Diagnostic and Surgical Center at 1660 Lafayette Road, Crawfordsville, will move inside the hospital behind the new Emergency Department.

Services to be relocated to the new Breast Center include: mammography; tomosynthesis/3D Breast mammography; breast biopsies; breast localizations; ultrasound and bone density.

Nancy Sayler, director of imaging for Franciscan Health Crawfordsville, says the move enhances convenience and efficiency. "It makes sense to locate women's radiology services in the same space as general radiology. It is also more efficient for radiologists and staff to care for radiology patients in one location."

Patients will continue to call Central Scheduling to make appointments for breast services and bone density testing. All Radiology patients will enter the hospital’s main admitting area, and patients needing breast and bone density services will be directed to the Breast Center and its separate and private waiting area.

Timeline For Transition

After the August 1 open house, the area will be restricted as cleaning crews conduct their final clean before opening for good in the early hours of Thursday, August 3.

Starting between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. on Thursday, August 3, staff will begin transporting any patient being treated to the new Emergency Department. Hospital officials and contractors will begin putting up signs and barricades around the soon-to-be former Emergency Department and Outpatient Entrance. Shortly after that, construction crews will remove the old signage.

Extra staff will be on hand around the hospital and in the Emergency Department to assist with getting patients and visitors to the correct location.