ED reconfigures front area and patient flow system

Patients coming to the MGH Emergency Department (ED) soon will benefit from an enhanced patient flow system and reconfigured front area — including reception, waiting, triage and screening rooms. The new system and design will pilot test the patient flow system and configuration of the ED planned for the Building for the Third Century (B3C), which is slated to be completed in 2011.

The new patient flow system includes a clinical greeter who makes a brief initial assessment of patients in the reception area and directs them to appropriate areas. Those needing immediate care are sent directly to the treatment area; those with less acute illnesses are sent to one of four screening rooms; individuals with less serious needs are directed to the waiting room; and pediatric patients are directed to a separate child-friendly waiting area.

While the ED undergoes reconfiguration, a temporary ED front area will be built, transforming a portion of the White Lobby into the ED reception, triage and waiting rooms. Sections of the White Lobby corridor will become a separate ED patient corridor, and existing rooms at the rear of the ED will be transformed to accommodate patients in a clinical greeter area. The temporary spaces will be used for approximately six months while the ED front area is redesigned. When construction is complete, these locations will be converted back to their original configurations and purposes.

"We are very appreciative of the many individuals and departments involved for their willingness to make adjustments and accommodations to their spaces while the ED is being redesigned," says Julia Sinclair, executive director of Emergency Services. "I especially would like to thank all of the staff working at the White Lobby information desk and those in Radiology, Plastic Surgery, the Planning Office and the ED. All of these employees have been instrumental in helping to accomplish the larger goal of enhancing the experience and satisfaction of our ED patients."

Construction of the temporary ED triage and screening area will begin immediately and is scheduled to be completed in December. At that point, patient flow will be altered and construction will begin in the ED, with completion expected in June.

For more information about the reconfiguration, patient flow system or temporary ED construction, contact Sinclair at (617) 726-3387.