MISSOULA — A brand-new Emergency Department at Missoula’s Community Medical Center (CMC) will open later this week.
The hospital officially unveiled the new Emergency Department with a “gauze cutting” ceremony on Wednesday, June 14, 2023. CMC Medical Director of Emergency Medicine Nancy Trangmoe says the new upgrades will help different demographics of the community.
“Were so excited to introduce some new components such as our large trauma bays to care for the most critically injured patients. We have [a] geriatric sensitive area to care for that portion of our population that in the past has been overlooked. We have pediatric specialists here at Community Medical Center, and now we’ll have the facility to match our excellence in pediatric care."
CMC CEO Bob Gomes noted that the Emergency Department was built to meet the community's growth.
"Our volumes continue to go up and the community continues to grow. And we need to have space in order to treat them. We brought in privacy, so patients have more privacy compared to our old emergency room. And the latest technology.”
Some of the new features for geriatric patients include handrails and different color flooring as well as larger spaces in the restrooms. Privacy is also another upgrade to the emergency room.
“This new ED has 20 private rooms, two trauma rooms and compared to the old ED, it had 13 non-private rooms,” Gomes said.
Hospital officials note the $14 million facility is not just an investment for the CMC, but also for the community.
“We broke ground over three years ago and it took us this long because it’s like flying a plane while you build it at the same time,” Gomes concluded.
The new CMC Emergency Department is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, offering immediate care for emergencies for adult and pediatric patients.
