Expansion Begins at Southern Ocean Medical Center's Emergency Department

When Southern Ocean Medical Center first opened in August 1972, Ocean County was still in the early stages of an amazing growth spurt.

The hospital had just 54 beds at that time, and 17 physicians, serving what was arguably a population that numbered around 10,000, between residents of Stafford and those in surrounding towns. The Garden State Parkway was still a teenager – the highway had first opened in 1954 – and Route 72 was more woods than strip malls.

In the nearly 40 years since the hospital opened, the area’s population has exploded. Stafford – which had just under 3,700 residents in the 1970 census – has grown to nearly 29,000 people.

And the hospital – which now has 176 beds and more than 280 doctors and 800 health care professionals – now handles more than 40,000 patient visits to the emergency room alone each year, in part because of the number of summer visitors to Long Beach Island and the surrounding areas.

That number, according to hospital officials, is more than double the number the hospital is designed to support.

The solution, hospital officials say, has been a $20 million expansion of the emergency department that will more than triple the size of the current facility.

“Southern Ocean sees an unusually high number of patients, primarly because of the influx of residents in the summer,” said Joe Coyle, president of Southern Ocean Medical Center. “The occasional surge of a busy summer weekend can cause the (emergency department) to be overcrowded, which can cause less-than-desirable wait times.”

Predictions are for the number of patients seen in the emergency department to exceed 46,000 by 2014 and 55,000 by 2020, so completing an expansion sooner rather than later is important.

Ground was broken for the emergency department expansion on Oct. 25, and when it’s completed – which is expected to be in mid-2013 – the emergency department will be able to handle not only more patients but will be able to provide better services for different types of emergency situations.

The project will be completed in two phases. The first phase, with a tentative completion date of September 2012, is the largest portion of the renovation and expansion, and will include a new area for treating pediatric emergencies. The second phase, with a tentative completion date of April 2013, will include an area for behavioral health emergency treatment.

In all, the expanded emergency department will have 42 treatment areas, nearly double the current number of 22, hospital officials said. The area for patients with behavioral health emergencies will be discreet and secure, the area for pediatric emergencies will have five beds and a family-friendly waiting area.

There are expanded triage and fast-track areas in the expansion as well, allowing for faster response to a variety of emergency situations.

“This project is going to improve the emergency department experience for patients and family members, as well as for the doctors and nurses who deliver care here,” said Dr. Adam Lazarus, chief of emergency medicine at Southern Ocean Medical Center.