About the Project
Chester River Hospital Center (CRHC) is a small hospital located in Chestertown, Maryland with aging facilities and infrastructure. CRGA was retained to develop a master plan understanding that any improvements would need to be accomplished within a limited budget and in phases. Initially we oversaw some infrastructure improvements including a new chiller and air handler.
The facilities report that was developed by our firm developed by our firm identified the ED as being very constrained and configured in a manner that provided very limited if any, patient privacy. Walk-in access to the ED was through the hospital’s main lobby, further impacting patient dignity and privacy. To further complicate matters, CRHC had an oil tank that had leaked for years requiring an on-going remediation process with a series of wells to monitor and remove the oil. At the time the master plan was developed, it was determined that enough oil had been removed to construct an addition in a limited area in front of the building.
Based on a master plan developed by our firm it was decided that the best use of limited funding would be to develop a new emergency department. The existing emergency department was located on the front of the building and constructing an addition in that location would allow the ED to be expanded and other improvements to be included in the project scope. This new addition would allow the ED to approximately double in size. This addition would also house new ambulance bays, a new ED walk-in entry and a new main hospital lobby and entry. The project area, including the new addition and the existing area to be renovated was approximately 12,000 square feet.
The completed project included fourteen emergent cubicles, a dedicated OB/GYN suite and a mental health holding cubicle. A new decontamination suite with hot to cool patient flow was also created. Previously, decontamination occurred in a stall shower located on the exterior face of the building and facing a street creating a total lack of privacy. This new decontamination suite eliminated that issue. A two-bay trauma room was also constructed. Six of the cubicles were designed to flex between emergent and urgent levels of care. Four of the cubicles had exterior windows and private toilet rooms, meeting the requirements of critical care cubicles. CRHC had very limited critical care facilities as most critical patients were sent to a larger hospital within the UMMS system. Locating four critical care cubicles in the ED allowed them to hold critical patients in a safe environment until a transfer could occur.
