Sentara Leigh Hospital Launches Emergency Dept. Expansion

From the City of Norfolk:

Posted on February 20, 2020

By Dale Gauding, Sr. Communications Advisor, Sentara Healthcare

Sentara Leigh Hospital is sharing news about the hospital’s plan to expand and modernize its Emergency Department (ED). The $14M project launched February 24th and will take about 18 months to complete.

This is being done to meet current and future demand for care and to better serve our community. The current ED was last modernized in 2009 and designed for 64,000 patient visits per year. In 2019, we exceeded 84,000 ED visits and projections are for continued growth.

We will add 13 private patient beds and 16 additional semi-private ‘focus care’ spaces, which are comfortable lounge-type chairs, for treat-and-release patients who don’t need a bed, gown or a full work-up to meet their care needs. We hope these patients will be able to go home sooner and thus provide a more timely and satisfying experience for everyone needing care in the ED.

The hospital is also adding a new state-of-the-art operating room to serve our robust schedule of
general surgery and orthopedic surgery through the Orthopedic Hospital at Sentara Leigh, which is a regional destination program for joint replacement and rehabilitation.

Parking
A handicapped parking lot between the ED and the hospital proper will be used for equipment and
staging. Handicapped spaces are being replaced nearby in the regular parking lot. Employee parking is being reconfigured to accommodate ambulatory patients and visitors. Hospital executives and department heads will park off-campus at the Interstate Commerce Center during construction.

Noise
Patient care will continue around the clock, with at least 47 care spaces available at all times. There may be construction noise during the day and trucks on the campus delivering supplies. We will offer ear plugs to patients bothered by the noise. There may be inconvenience and stress during the project, but we are certain it will be worth it when the project is complete and the Sentara Leigh ED is able to offer 66 ‘venues of care’ to serve the needs of all patients.

Ambulances
Motorist and ambulance access to the campus and the ED will remain unchanged. We are in contact with our EMS partners who bring patients to Sentara Leigh Hospital. The helipad will remain where it is.

Opportunities
The ED expansion at Sentara Leigh Hospital is part of a master campus plan which includes the new Sentara Cancer Center (left), facing Virginia Beach Boulevard and scheduled to open starting in May, and a new medical office building at Virginia Beach Boulevard and Kempsville Road.

We hope you will pardon our progress as we position the Sentara Leigh Hospital campus to meet the needs of our patients from Norfolk, Hampton Roads and northeast North Carolina for years to come.

This press release was produced by the City of Norfolk. The views expressed here are the author’s own.