Scripps Mercy Hospital in Hillcrest has officially dedicated its expanded emergency room and trauma center. Patients will notice a big difference.
The new ER waiting room looks like a members-only airport lounge.
Each patient will be assigned a private room.
Mercy's ER Medical Director Valerie Norton said it's a big change.
"That means we can be done with the days of cramped, overcrowded spaces, where people didn't have privacy, where they were in the hallways, where it was noisy and cluttered," Dr. Norton said. "So to us, this is like a dream come true. That means we can finally have a healing environment for the healing that we do."
The ER has its own lab and a dedicated CT scanner. Norton said staff will be able to diagnose and treat patients faster.
Scripps Mercy Hospital treated 60,000 patients in its ER in 2010.
The new center is scheduled to open for business next week.
