Emergency Department

An Ellicott City, Md., man died Sunday at a Virginia hospital after participating in the Tough Mudder endurance series in Berkeley County on Saturday, police said. Avishek Sengupta, 28, was pronounced dead at Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, Va., Berkeley County Sheriff's Deputy Sgt. Ted Snyder said Monday. Sengupta's death was ruled accidental by the Virginia medical examiner's office in Manassas, Va., which said Monday afternoon that drowning was the cause of death. Sengupta had to be removed from a fairly deep pool at the “Walk the Plank” aquatic obstacle where it appears he was submerged for too long, according to Snyder.

RANSON, W.Va. - Nearly 100 invited guests gathered Thursday at the emergency department entrance of West Virginia University Hospitals-East's Jefferson Memorial Hospital to celebrate the official opening of the expanded and renovated emergency department. Hospital leaders offered tours of the 6,000-square-foot addition following the ribbon cutting ceremony, which was co-hosted by the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce. Jefferson Memorial Hospital's new emergency department features 16 private rooms, including a 4 bed minor care treatment area.

The emergency department at West Virginia University Hospitals-East's City Hospital recently received a donation in memory of a former patient, Larry Nix.  Forty-six donors made gifts totaling nearly $10,000 to the City Hospital Foundation to the Larry Nix Memorial Fund. Among the donors were Larry's wife, Anne Nix; their son, Mark, and his wife, Lisa Nix; and their daughter, Linda, and her husband, Jan Derezinski. The Nix family decided to direct these funds to the emergency department to recognize the heroic attempts by Dr. Bradley Mongold and other emergency department clinicians to save Larry Nix's life.

HAGERSTOWN A renovation project that will cost about $600,000 will add beds to the emergency department at Washington County Hospital, where recent waits have been as long as 10 hours, officials said. Though officials plan to build a new hospital near Robinwood Medical Center, emergency room managers said they can no longer wait for more space. Dr. Stephen Kotch, chair of the department of emergency medicine, said a new process of identifying the most seriously ill patients has decreased the length of time they spend waiting for treatment.

chambersburg@herald-mail.com CHAMBERSBURG, PA. - Scores of people lined up Tuesday afternoon to get a look at something they would normally rather avoid - the inside of Chambersburg Hospital's new emergency department. "This is the second new emergency department I've gone through since 1986," said Dr. Thomas Anderson, the department's medical director. The current emergency room, which will remain in service until April 25, was completed in 1994 and Anderson said it was outdated "when we moved in. " "I think it's going to be a place that the staff will take some pride working in," he said of the new department.

Dr. Chris Gentle said during the actual day of a holiday, foot traffic is pretty light in the emergency department. It's the next day, Gentle said, that he and the rest of the Washington County Hospital emergency department staff see an increase in traffic. "People try to avoid coming in the day of the holiday," he said. "What we see is a tremendous spike the following. People tend to put things off as much as they can and wind up getting a bit sicker and coming in the following day. " The last place most people want to spend their time off is in the ER waiting room.

Officials at West Virginia University Hospitals-East's City Hospital hosted an open house last month to showcase phase II of the hospital's $11 million emergency department expansion and renovation project. Phase I, a 17,000-square-foot addition to the hospital's existing emergency department, opened in May. Since that time, contractors have been working on a complete remodeling of the old emergency department space, according to a news release. According to Chief Administrative Officer Anthony P. Zelenka, the total project is now complete.

RANSON, W.Va. - In an effort to decrease patient wait time in the emergency department, Jefferson Memorial Hospital recently added a mobile care unit outside the emergency department. The unit, which is staffed by an emergency medicine trained nurse practitioner supported by additional nursing staff, adds four treatment rooms to the emergency department. Patients who come to the emergency department with less serious conditions are being treated in the new area. "The goal is to get our patients treated more quickly and then released, which should ultimately improve patient satisfaction," said Tina Coad, executive consultant for emergency services.

Washington County Hospital held an open house and ribbon-cutting ceremony May 8 at the newly renovated Express Care. The new Express Care, formerly adjacent to the emergency department, was relocated to an expanded area between the emergency department waiting area and the security department. The new area has seven patient treatment areas, an increase from the four areas available at the previous location. Daily hours of operation have been extended by four hours, from 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. Relocating Express Care has also allowed for the addition of six treatment rooms to the emergency department.

An Ellicott City, Md., man died Sunday at a Virginia hospital after participating in the Tough Mudder endurance series in Berkeley County on Saturday, police said. Avishek Sengupta, 28, was pronounced dead at Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, Va., Berkeley County Sheriff's Deputy Sgt. Ted Snyder said Monday. Sengupta's death was ruled accidental by the Virginia medical examiner's office in Manassas, Va., which said Monday afternoon that drowning was the cause of death. Sengupta had to be removed from a fairly deep pool at the “Walk the Plank” aquatic obstacle where it appears he was submerged for too long, according to Snyder.

The Jefferson Memorial Hospital Auxiliary recently purchased an AccuVein AV300 for the hospital's emergency department in Ranson. The equipment is used to locate veins for medical procedures, including IV access and blood draws.

This year, more than 2,200 Christmas Day meals will go to area families from the caring hands of the Meritus Medical Center emergency department and staff in the 10th annual Lend-A-Hand project for the Tri-State area. More than 150 volunteers, including doctors and nurses from the Meritus Medical Center emergency department, which sponsors the annual Christmas Eve project, will prepare holiday meals for delivery in a conference room-turned-distribution point at Robinwood Professional Center.

An overflowing crowd gathered inside the entrance of Meritus Medical Center Sunday for a tradition known as the Tree of Lights, which recognizes the spiritual nature of the holiday season while highlighting an annual fundraiser for the hospital. The crowd was pretty remarkable since it was held at the same time the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers were playing, said Joseph P. Ross, president and chief executive officer of Meritus Health. “That's testimony to the strength of this tradition,” Ross said, joking to a crowd of about 200 people.

West Virginia University Hospitals-East is close to reaching its goal of raising $3 million in a major gifts fundraising campaign that was quietly launched about 18 months ago, officials announced Wednesday. About $1.93 million has been pledged so far, officials said Wednesday at the public launch of “Time Saves Lives: The Campaign for WVU Hospitals-East.” Campaign co-chairman Robert F. “Bob” Baronner Jr., said they hope to meet the goal by June 2013. “Considering the way the economy is, we've done extremely well,” Baronner said in an interview after the launch event where seven “leadership donors” and campaign volunteers and contributors were recognized at the Holiday Inn in Martinsburg.

The emergency department at West Virginia University Hospitals-East's City Hospital recently received a donation in memory of a former patient, Larry Nix.  Forty-six donors made gifts totaling nearly $10,000 to the City Hospital Foundation to the Larry Nix Memorial Fund. Among the donors were Larry's wife, Anne Nix; their son, Mark, and his wife, Lisa Nix; and their daughter, Linda, and her husband, Jan Derezinski. The Nix family decided to direct these funds to the emergency department to recognize the heroic attempts by Dr. Bradley Mongold and other emergency department clinicians to save Larry Nix's life.

Jefferson Memorial Hospital recently chose Justin Campbell, LPN, a nurse in the emergency department, as the recipient of the DAISY Award For Extraordinary Nurses for the first half of 2012. Denise Carter, nurse manager of the emergency department and special-care unit, presented the award to Campbell during a ceremony at the hospital. Campbell received a certificate and a sculpture called “A Healer's Touch,” which was carved by artists from the Shona Tribe in Africa. The DAISY, or Diseases Attacking the Immune System, Award, was established nationally to recognize the superhuman efforts nurses make every day. Nurses at West Virginia University Hospitals-East's City Hospital and Jefferson Memorial Hospital are being honored throughout the year with the award.

West Virginia University Hospitals-East's City Hospital recently recognized 145 employees for their years of service to the hospital at a celebration dinner at the Holiday Inn in Martinsburg. City Hospital's Chief Administrative Officer Tony Zelenka thanked the group for their dedication and service to the hospital over the years. He acknowledged that of the employees recognized, 33 individuals had 20 or more years of service to City Hospital. As part of the evening's program, the 2011 Quality Service Award winner was announced.

Officials at West Virginia University Hospitals-East's City Hospital hosted an open house last month to showcase phase II of the hospital's $11 million emergency department expansion and renovation project. Phase I, a 17,000-square-foot addition to the hospital's existing emergency department, opened in May. Since that time, contractors have been working on a complete remodeling of the old emergency department space, according to a news release. According to Chief Administrative Officer Anthony P. Zelenka, the total project is now complete.

Phase One of an $11 million expansion of City Hospital's emergency department that will nearly double the number of beds was marked Thursday with a promise that the new facility would be dedicated to "the community, not to administrators or doctors. " Anthony P. Zelenka, chief administrative officer for West Virginia University Hospitals-East's City Hospital, told a crowd of nearly 100 that when the second phase, the renovation of the existing emergency department, is finished in October, the number of beds will increase to about 40. The department currently has 27 beds.