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New Outpatient Center Focuses on Patient First
Prepared by: Steve Wong Upstate Carolina Medical Center Marketing Phone 864-487-1515 Getting in and out of the hospital just got a little easier at Upstate Carolina Medical Center. The Gaffney hospital opened a $3.6 million Outpatient Center with the intention of providing patients convenient and quality healthcare as quickly and efficiently as possible. "The Outpatient Center will dramatically change how patients flow through the hospital," CEO Joe Howell said. "Outpatient services continue to grow throughout the country and here in Cherokee County. Surgeries that used to take an overnight stay in the hospital can in many cases now be done within a few hours; the patient recovers and then goes home. With our new Outpatient Center, our aim is to make the experience as positive as possible. That means quicker registration, more streamlined procedures, more efficient consideration of the patient’s time."
The Outpatient Center was showcased for the first time on Thursday, Nov. 15, when the local business community attended the Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce’s Business After Hours networking event at the hospital. This VIP event included guest speakers and a ribbon-cutting ceremony, starting at 5:30 p.m. Then on Friday, Nov. 16, the public was invited to an open house, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Pending final inspections, final deliveries, and finishing touches, the center was scheduled to open for business on Monday, Nov. 19. "We’re aiming for Nov. 19," project manager and hospital COO Thom King said. "But with any building project, something could come up. We won’t open the door to the patients until everything is absolutely ready." The last major building project at the hospital was completed in 2002, when it relocated the Emergency Department to the front of the facility. That was a strategic move to make emergency services more readily available to the local community. As a result, there as been a significant increase in ER visits. “We expect this Outpatient project to be equally successful,” Howell said.
At that time, the plan was to create a new outpatient services entrance where the Emergency Department had been on the building’s east side. "The public demand is for more and better outpatient services," Howell said. "That’s what we’re providing them. The hospital believes very strongly in supporting the local economy. By building this Outpatient Center, we believe the citizens will choose to stay in-county, rather than spending their time and healthcare dollars across the county line." The Outpatient Center encompasses 13,000 square feet. In addition, a new parking lot was constructed near the new entrance. Among the features in the Center are a new lobby, registration desks, the same-day surgery department, an additional operating room, two minor procedure/endoscopy rooms, and new mammography and stereotactic equipment and services. "It looks wonderful,v Admitting Supervisor Dottie Spencer said. "We can’t wait to move in and get started. Most importantly it will change the patient flow. All of the outpatient services will be redirected. Nearly every department in the hospital will be involved, including the lab, imaging, cardiopulmonary, and surgery. It should be a much improved and efficient system that I believe the patients deserve and appreciate."
"This is another manifestation of our Patient First philosophy," Howell said. "Upstate Carolina is experiencing a cultural transformation, something we call ’Shared Vision.’ Part of it is our Patient First philosophy. Patients have always been our first priority, but now, as we move into a more sophisticated era, we have brought this natural instinct into the forefront of our thinking. Building an outpatient center with the conscious intent of making it patient friendly and easily accessible is what Patient First is all about." | ||||||||||||
