Saint Peter's Unveils Expanded Pediatric Emergency Unit

Saint Peter's University Hospital cut the ribbon Monday on its newly expanded pediatric emergency room, a 5,200 square foot, state of the art department that will serve the hospital's youngest patients.

The Dorothy B. Hersh Pediatric Emergency Department will have 14 beds, 11 of which will be in private rooms. It will treat patients from newborns up to age 18, according to the hospital.

Saint Peter's provides pediatric emergency care to 22,000 infants, children and young adults annually, according to the hospital.

2,200-2,400 of those children are admitted as in-patients for additional care, which necessitates the need for a "Fast Track" area, where patients with non-critical needs will be seen by a doctor, treated and released within 90 minutes, according to Dr. Michael Hochberg, chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine.

By streamlining the care of those patients who are not dealing with a life threatening condition, the hospital can better accommodate those children who are gravely ill or injured, he said. 

The pediatric emergency department is the first of a five-phase renovation of the emergency department that will take 2.5 years to complete, according to the hospital.

Phase one also included a new entryway for the emergency room and a redesigned walk-in area.

Coming phases in the plan include adding more beds and a "fast track" area to the general emergency room, and the creation of treatment "pods" to address three areas: acute care, women's health and rapid treatment patients, according to the hospital.