New St. Francis Emergency Department serves 31,000 patients in its first year

Hospital meeting critical need for residents in Mooresville and surrounding areas

MOORESVILLE, Ind. – Whether it’s a sick child in the middle of the night, a serious sports injury or a sudden severe health issue, residents of northern Morgan and southern Hendricks counties are turning to the area’s newest emergency department, celebrating its first anniversary on Oct. 1.

The year-old Emergency Department at St. Francis Hospital-Mooresville is far exceeding the predicted number of patients using its services. More than 31,300 patients have visited the ED in its first year of operation – nearly twice what was originally projected.

“The number of people we are treating underscores just how badly such a service was needed in this community,” said Jared Stark, executive director of the Mooresville hospital. “We had heard as much from many community leaders prior to our opening the ED, and since then, the response from residents has been extremely positive. While we wish no one would ever need emergency services, we’re glad we’re nearby when they do.”

“The opening of the Emergency Department was the culmination of our recent expansion in Mooresville to address the health care needs of the growing northern Morgan, Hendricks and southwestern Marion counties,” said Robert J. Brody, president and chief executive officer, St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers. “St. Francis-Mooresville has built on its foundation as a renowned specialty hospital — known for excellence in orthopaedics, colon and rectal care, women’s services and many other areas — to become a full-service hospital, addressing all the health care needs of our community.”

In the same year the Emergency Department opened, the hospital added:
· A new 34-bed orthopaedic inpatient unit;
· A 26-bed adult medical-surgical inpatient unit;
· An eight-bed Intensive Care Unit;
· Six new operating rooms with the latest in surgical technologies;
· A new laboratory; and
· An on-site office for Indiana Heart Physicians for expanded cardiac services.

With the expansion, the hospital grew from 258,000 square feet to nearly 400,000 square feet.

The Emergency Department is staffed by 22 board-certified emergency physicians from Emergency Physicians of Indianapolis, several specialty physicians, in-house hospitalists who facilitate patient admissions, and nurses trained in acute care and trauma situations. The department features state-of-the-art equipment and includes 14 treatment rooms, two acute care rooms and a community room for emergency medical services professionals.

Emergency Department physicians and medical staff have access to wireless communication technology and bedside charting for improved caregiver communication and efficiency.

The department also is an access point for St. Francis’ renowned Emergency Heart Attack Response Team (EHART) approach to cardiac care. The more quickly a patient showing signs of a heart attack is admitted into the hospital’s cardiac catheterization lab for treatment, the better the chances are for survival. EHART dramatically improves the hospital’s door-to- intervention time, which can mean a significant improvement in heart attack outcomes.

The Emergency Department, located just south of the main hospital entrance, is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.