Sequim Gazette staff

An estimated $1.9 million expansion of Olympic Memorial Hospital’s emergency department is complete, giving patients and heath workers more room to get/give treatment and more access to trauma services.

The emergency department now has up to 20 beds and increased staffing to meet the community’s demand for emergency services 24 hours a day, seven days per week — a demand that Olympic Medical Center officials say has increased over the past few years.

“For a multitude of reasons, our emergency department has been increasingly busy,” Lorraine Wall, RN, Chief Nursing Officer at OMC, said. “We are now fully set up to triage and room patients more efficiently, allowing us to see patients with lower-level urgent care needs more promptly.”

The Washington State Department of Health recently re-designated Olympic Medical’s emergency department as a Level 3 Trauma Center. For patients, that translates to 24-hour access to trauma services.

The expansion, one that started in August 2014, includes features previously unavailable such as a shower room accessible that’s from the outside for hazardous material exposure, a negative air-pressure room to safely serve patients with communicable diseases and “swing rooms” that allow staff to secure medical equipment — an option that health officials say is particularly useful if a patient is a risk to himself/herself or others when a safe environment is needed.

“Having the additional beds and capabilities in the newly remodeled emergency department is significant for meeting the growing needs of our community,” Wall said.

Olympic Medical Center leaders, along with the Port Angeles Ambassadors, host a brief ribbon-cutting ceremony at noon today, Wednesday, Sept. 2, in front of the emergency department entrance. It’s scheduled to end just prior to the scheduled 12:30 p.m. Olympic Medical Center Board of Commissioners meeting. Because of patient privacy concerns, the emergency department will not be available for public viewing.