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Cape ER project nears half-way mark

By Staff | Jul 24, 2010

The renovation of Cape Coral Hospital’s Emergency Department is nearly half finished.
Karen Krieger, spokesperson for the Lee Memorial Health System, said one of the additions has been completed, but construction crews are still in the middle of remodeling.
At this stage in the project, Cape Coral Hospital has increased the number of available beds from 24 to 36. And following the November 2011 completion of the project, the hospital will offer a total of 43 beds.
The emergency department is being split into three pods, marked A, B and C. Critical care is housed in Pod A, the cardiac but less acute center is in Pod B and a new fast-track center for minor injures is in Pod C.
The fast-track area, modeled after urgent care clinics, will help separate patients with minor injures from those who require immediate, emergent care for serious medical issues.
All three pods are open at this point, but won’t be completed until next November.
Each pod also has its own room dedicated to child patients. These dedicated pediatric rooms have themes like Finding Nemo or Florida’s natural habitat.
Patient rooms also have changed for the better, said Krieger. Waiting rooms have been updated and include children play areas.
“The rooms are bigger and all are private,” she said.
Two major donors are also helping to make the renovation a reality — the Rotary Club of Cape Coral Goldcoast and the Fort Myers Track Club. The Rotary Club, for instance, recently gave its second installment towards a $100,000 pledge to assist in renovating the emergency department.