Lankenau Medical Center Emergency Department Five Year Impact
A thoughtful design
Also helping us meet demand is the department's design, which was the result of input from all levels of hospital staff. This brainstorming helped architects create a one-of-a-kind emergency department organized into different color-coded pods or tracks — acute, trauma and fast — depending on a patient's needs. Typically, this means after preliminary registration and evaluation (also called triage), patients are seen by a physician or an advanced practice provider (usually a nurse practitioner or physician assistant), and then assigned to one of our three trauma bays, 31 acute care treatment rooms, or 23 fast track treatment rooms.
What's important about this flow — which was designed by our own doctors and nurses — is that it ensures that patients are treated by staff members dedicated to that level of care, and those with minor needs can often be seen without long wait times.
Tracking "door-to-doc" time
One measure used to assess the efficiency of emergency care is door-to-doc time, which quantifies the time between a patient's registration in the ED and their initial encounter with a physician or advanced practice provider. It has been shown that low door-to-doc times can lead to better outcomes, increased patient satisfaction and a decrease in the patient's overall length of stay.
Currently, our average door-to-doc time is 31 minutes, which is 23% faster than the national average of 40 minutes (though some waits at urban hospitals can average as long as four hours). This is remarkable given that in fiscal year 2024, we saw an average of 170 patients per day!
Christina Cavanaugh, MSN, RN, CNL, Nurse Manager for the Lankenau Medical Center ED"If it wasn't for the renovation and expansion, our staff would be drowning. Now we offer our patients the best possible care using advanced technology in a calmer environment."
The latest technology
Modern emergency medicine requires modern technology. In addition to new ultrasound machines, X-ray equipment, cardiac monitors and a digital colposcope, the ED is now home to its own Siemens SOMATOM® Force CT scanner thanks to a generous philanthropic gift. This advanced technology provides low-dose, high-definition pictures in half the time of regular CT scanners, without the need for a sedated or still patient. "Having our own dedicated CT scanner just steps away from our intake rooms gives us answers quickly," says Benjamin Bui, MD, Chief of the Lankenau Medical Center ED. "Without it, we would lose precious time." In addition, each treatment room is equipped with identical technology and supplies so staff no longer needs to borrow equipment from other rooms. Five Pyxis™ medication administration cabinets also ensure medication is stored, managed and accessed safely.
Local level II trauma care
Your investment in a new ED at Lankenau Medical Center also allowed us to upgrade our capabilities to fully serve those with major traumatic injuries as an accredited level II trauma center. This is the highest level of trauma care accreditation available for a hospital without a trauma research and surgical residency program. This means that residents living in our densely populated area can quickly receive sophisticated trauma care around-the-clock at Lankenau Medical Center rather than being transferred to another hospital. Treating trauma patients on-site increases the chance of them receiving treatment within the "golden hour," the first 60 minutes after injury in which a trauma victim has the best chance of survival and improved outcomes.
48,000 Total square footage
316 Donors
31 Increase in treatment spaces
170 Average patients per day (Fiscal Year 24)
$52.8 M Renovation costs
$6.5 M Raised by philanthropy
21% Increase in yearly patient visits to the ED since 2014
240* Average patients per day during COVID surges
5-8 minutes Current average door-to-triage time
31 minutes Current average door-to-doc time
Prepared for disaster
The renovation has also presented an opportunity to collaborate with regional partners to develop emergency and trauma care systems that promote community-wide preparedness in the event of natural disasters or mass casualty events. What's more, a new decontamination room with showers provides treatment for patients suffering from toxic exposures.
The ED in action: Saving young gunshot victims
In 2023, three patients, all under the age of 15, arrived at the Lankenau Medical Center emergency room with gunshot wounds. One was transferred to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), but the other two were too unstable for transfer. Our team cared for these critically ill patients in the ED, operating room, surgical intensive care unit (SICU) and step-down units. The two patients received massive blood transfusions, had multiple operations, were ventilated and on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) — remaining hospitalized for more than 100 days. During their recovery, the nursing team provided iPads so the patients could watch their favorite shows and stay connected to the outside world. The SICU staff also held a "prom" for both patients, and when each patient was discharged, staff gathered in the hallway to clap and wish them well. Recently, one of the patients returned to the SICU to visit. The team was so excited to see him up, walking and making great progress. It brought great joy to every member of the ED staff, who took pride in giving both patients another chance at life.
In closing
Every second matters in an emergency department. So does a functional design, state-of-the-art technology and facilities that can accommodate patients with a wide variety of needs ... all aspects of emergency medicine successfully brought to fruition with the new Lankenau Medical Center Emergency Department. Your generosity and vision brought a new level of high-quality trauma care to our community — one that will save lives and keep families whole for decades to come.
For more information on the Moments Matter campaign for the emergency department at Lankenau Medical Center or this report, please contact Katie Beddis, Executive Director of Development, by phone at 484.476.8067 or by email at beddisk@mlhs.org.