UW Health Emergency Department services come to Madison’s East side

Madison- At 7 a.m. sharp on Monday, August 17, the Emergency Department (ED) at UW Health at The American Center will open its doors offering a comprehensive ED with new technology and building design to speed the patient’s movement through the system.

Patients who need emergency care at The American Center will benefit from both an innovative layout and new technology.

“When a patient comes through our doors, we’ll aim to do a quick ED admission and escort him or her directly to a room to begin care, instead of having the patient wait in the lobby,” said Mary Ryan, manager of the ED at UW Health at The American Center. “Another goal is to interview patients as a care team, rather than asking them to repeat their story multiple times. We’ll also aim to bring services, such as blood draws and some x-ray procedures, to the patient in the exam room.”

The emergency department is located in the Universal Care Center (UCC) in the building. The UCC will provide rooms for patients presenting for emergency care, pre-and post-operative care and radiology procedures. Room set-ups will be standardized to accommodate any of these three types of patients, thus providing a uniquely flexible environment.

“The design was configured so we could be versatile with our patient care and the emergency department. We can handle any patients in 48 beds,” said Ryan.

The American Center ED will also use a technology called Service Connections, which is a badge system that will help monitor bottlenecks. A patient will get a badge at ED admission, and wait times will be monitored to provide as efficient care as possible. Staff will be able to look at the process to find out where they can improve.

“We are very excited to offer this service to the east side of town and we are working hard to make changes and try new things. We want to all work together to benefit our patients,” said Ryan.

“Video consults,” which link patients to providers who are not in the same location, will be part of the telemedicine program. All inpatient and UCC rooms will have access to equipment to facilitate video consults and the technology will be available bedside as an option for a remote examination.  For example, a patient at The American Center could be seen via video from a doctor at UW Hospital. This arrangement gives patients faster access to specialty care without the need for travel.

Patients who need intensive care will be stabilized at The American Center and transferred for further treatment at UW Hospital.

UW Health at The American Center will feature 14 operating rooms; 56 inpatient rooms; the first demonstration kitchen in a Madison hospital (used for community cooking classes and patient teaching), and sports-performance facilities including a replica Kohl Center basketball court, a swimming pool, an indoor track and both indoor and outdoor turf fields. The focus is wellness, sports performance, and quality, efficient care.