HOSPITAL UPGRADE OUTLINED PROPOSAL WOULD EXPAND ER, DOUBLE INTENSIVE CARE'S SIZE.Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer LANCASTER - The Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley Hospital emergency room would be expanded and the intensive care unit nearly doubled in size as part of a master facilities plan under consideration. The hospital would increase the size of the emergency room by nearly 9,000 square feet and add 12 to 14 beds to the 20-bed ICU ICU intensive care unit. ICU abbr. intensive care unit ICU see intensive care unit. ICU under the first phase of the plan. ``This is phase one of the master plan for developing the campus to deal with identifying current and future space needs through year 2020,'' Chief Operating Officer Chief Operating Officer (COO) The officer of a firm responsible for day-to-day management, usually the president or an executive vice-president. Edward Mirzabegian said. ``We want to make sure to align the needs and projections with the business plan and also develop an effective strategy for future growth in the community.'' The total cost of the first phase is about $53 million, but Mirzabegian said that figure is very preliminary. Funding the projects would depend on how much money the 379-bed hospital gets from its operations. Mirzabegian presented the first phase of a three-phase master plan at the board meeting last week. No action was taken. ``It was not up for approval. It was letting the board know what we are working on,'' Mirzabegian said. The ICU would expand into space freed up by the move of women's services into the hospital's skilled nursing facility skilled nursing facility n. Abbr. SNF An establishment that houses chronically ill, usually elderly patients, and provides long-term nursing care, rehabilitation, and other services. , which is being converted into a Women and Infants Center at a cost of $30 million. The center is scheduled to open in March. Enlarging the emergency room will help with patient flow and allow for separating patients by the seriousness of their condition, Mirzabegian said. The plan also calls for adding a second cardiac catheterization Cardiac Catheterization Definition Cardiac catheterization (also called heart catheterization) is a diagnostic procedure which does a comprehensive examination of how the heart and its blood vessels function. laboratory along with a recovery area and patient holding room, and relocating MRI 1. (application) MRI - Magnetic Resonance Imaging. 2. MRI - Measurement Requirements and Interface. and CAT scan CAT scan (kăt) [computerized axial tomography], X-ray technique that allows relatively safe, painless, and rapid diagnosis in previously inaccessible areas of the body; also called CT scan. equipment from a satellite building into the hospital, Mirzabegian said. The plan also includes adding more parking spaces, refiguring the entrance to the hospital and adding a large canopy that would provide cover for patients entering and leaving the hospital, and straightening the access from Avenue J to the emergency room, Mirzabegian said. Karen Maeshiro, (661) 267-5744 karen.maeshiro(at)dailynews.com |
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