Manatee Memorial Hospital’s new emergency care center set to open next month

Over plates of eggs and bacon and cups of coffee on Wednesday, more than a dozen doctors and Manatee Memorial Hospital administrative staff heard the opening date of the anticipated new emergency care center and looked back on how far medicine, technology and the hospital itself have come over more than 60 years.

The new emergency care center will open for patients Dec. 13.

A ceremonial opening will be held Dec. 11.

Manatee Memorial Hospital CEO Kevin DiLallo called the 34,000-square-foot, $33 million emergency care center the hospital’s biggest construction project in 12 years and an exciting one.

“It’s like birthing a new baby,” DiLallo said.

The new emergency care center will add nearly 20 patient room. Currently, the emergency room has about 30 beds while the new center will have 48, chief nursing officer Candace Smith said in her presentation.

There will also be 24 universal exam rooms, including three behavioral health rooms, two resuscitation rooms, two negative pressure/contact isolation rooms and one room each for bariatric and gynecology services.

A covered drive access for EMS will have three staging and support areas for ambulances.

The groundbreaking for the new center was held in July 2017 on two acres of hospital property along Second Avenue East. The area was formerly a doctors’ parking area.

DiLallo has previously said the emergency room has seen a record-setting number of patients over the last several years and the new emergency care center will help accommodate the increasing number of patients and streamline their care.

They expect, he said, to continue to see growth in the number of patients, about 16 percent, over the next few years.

While Manatee Memorial Hospital has been open since 1953, the current emergency room was built in the 1980s and renovated in 2001.

Wednesday morning’s breakfast brought together about a dozen current and former hospital chiefs of staff and other administrators.

“It’s very, very important to see where you’ve been and where you’re going,” DiLallo said of the event.

The former chiefs of staff shared their experiences in the position, recalling some of the past challenges such as getting doctors board certified, and growing the cardiac surgery program.

They also praised Manatee Memorial Hospital’s progress and growth.

John Peters, chief of staff in 2015 and 2016, said the hospital staying on top of the ever-changing technology is “worth it.”

They also heard updates from Smith on current projects, such as the hospital’s work in the stroke center and the automation of some laboratory functions.

When Smith asked the doctors for their feedback on the hospital since their time as chief of staff, Thomas Braxton, who held the position in 2003 and 2004, said Manatee Memorial “is the place to go in Manatee County.”

The most important feedback DiLallo said he received Wednesday morning was how physicians fell they have a duel role and are not just helping run the hospital but are giving back to the community.