DILLON — Dillon County will be able to care for unexpected emergencies even better in the near future.
McLeod Medical Center Dillon announced Monday it plans to upgrade its emergency department with a $6.3 million, 9,365-square-foot expansion.
“We’ve been talking about it for several years and been getting input from patients, medical staff and local advisory board and everyone sees that it’s a tremendous need,” McLeod Medical Center Dillon Administrator Deborah Locklair said.
In 2009, the emergency department saw more than 25,000 patients which is a big number but is even bigger when you consider that the county only has an estimated 28,000 residents. That statistic, coupled with an estimated 2.2 percent volume of growth over 10 years for patients needing trauma and primary care, makes the need for expansion even more apparent.
“Construction of a new emergency department at McLeod Dillon will make emergency care more accessible and timely for patients in the area,” Locklair said.
The renovation and construction of the new emergency department will include 17 new exam and treatment rooms, designated triage and trauma rooms, a decontamination area and staff support spaces.
Ben Rook, chairman and CEO of DesignStrategies, an architectural and engineering firm from Greenville and designer of the expansion, said one of the elements of the design is to incorporate sunlight into the patients’ rooms.
“This element has been proven to help in ensuring that patients have a speedy recovery,” Rook said.
Other features include a family waiting area that is designed for improved privacy and safety and a dedicated helicopter pad for transporting trauma patients.
“This emergency department is essential to the county’s health. Without it, there is no safety net for people who don’t have a way to get access to care when they have a true emergency,” Locklair said.
McLeod Medical Center Dillon is the only 24-hour, seven-day-a-week hospital in Dillon County. The hospital is a 79-bed community, not-for-profit acute care hospital located in downtown Dillon. The hospital became part of McLeod Health in 1997.
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