Photo: Jackson Health System
Jackson Memorial Hospital is tripling the size of its emergency department.
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Economic Backbone: Hospitals
Emergency Upgrade
Emergency departments often serve as something of a front door for a hospital. They represent the first impression and experience that many patients will have with the institution.
It has been 30 years since Jackson Health System made substantial changes to the emergency department at its flagship Miami hospital. But with a $300-million overhaul underway, the hospital is getting a new front door, with a more modern and open feel that’s in line with other recent upgrades across the system.
“We're going to have a much better patient experience,” says Jorge Garciga, the system’s director of facilities design and construction. “It's going to improve our patient flow, and it's going to improve the way we serve the community.”
The upgrade at Jackson Memorial Hospital, a teaching facility affiliated with the University of Miami, is being done in two phases. The first adds more than 130,000 square feet of new space. The second will renovate the current 48,000-sq.-ft. operation. Once complete, the emergency department will be more than triple the size of the existing unit, which saw more than 83,000 patients in 2022.
Phase one is underway, with completion targeted for the fourth quarter of 2025. Phase two will begin after operations are transferred to the new facility and has a targeted completion in early 2027. Plans call for the two-story unit to have more than 200 patient rooms and an array of upgrades, including a new radiology department and other advanced imaging machines.
The public health system, one of the largest employers in South Florida, is in the midst of a 10-year capital improvement plan that’s investing $1.7 billion in new facilities, renovations, medical equipment and infrastructure. The spending is supported, in part, by an $830-million bond approved by voters in 2013.
To make room for the expansion, Jackson is tearing down the hospital’s aging north wing, a three-story building that was built in the 1940s and was home to doctors’ offices and patient beds.
With that space freed up, the hospital will have room to make substantial changes to the way the emergency department handles patient flow. There will be more space, for example, for triage and quick turnarounds for patients with minor injuries. But among the biggest changes will be the way young patients are handled. There will be separate entrances – one for adults and one for children.
“Many times, when you want to bring in a pediatric patient, you don’t want to mix them together with adults,” Garciga said. “An adult waiting to be seen has different needs than a parent waiting with a child.”
Business Beat - Week of May 3rd
