Baystate Wing Hospital Breaks Ground on New Emergency Department

PALMER — Baystate Wing Hospital, public officials, community leaders, and donors held a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Emergency Department this week. Once completed, the $17.2 million project will expand the Emergency Department to better accommodate the needs of the community by supporting the current annual patient volume of 24,000 visits.

“For over 100 years, Baystate Wing Hospital has played a vital role in the community by providing exceptional care for the region. The new Emergency Department will ensure that patients continue to receive outstanding emergency care close to home in an innovative and highly efficient space that will reflect the expertise and commitment of our Emergency Department team,” said Michael Moran, president and chief administrative officer for Baystate Health’s Eastern Region, which includes Baystate Wing Hospital and Baystate Mary Lane.

The planning process for the Emergency Department project included input on design concepts from staff, emergency medical service providers, infection-control experts, and patients. The new space will include separate ambulance and public entryways and will feature 20 patient rooms, including trauma, behavioral health, and other dedicated specialty-care areas. In the new Emergency Department, private rooms will replace curtained bays to enhance patient privacy, and a dedicated space will be created for behavioral-health patients. Additionally, patients will have access to sophisticated medical technology, including CT scan and Radiology (X-ray) services, all located in the new, 17,800-square-foot space.

“Our community hospitals enable us to provide the right care, in the right place, at the right time for thousands of patients and their families,” said Dr. Mark Keroack, president and CEO of Baystate Health. “When Wing Memorial Hospital became part of Baystate Health in 2014, we made a promise to their community that a new Emergency Department would be built. We are now delivering on that promise with the new Emergency Department opening in September 2018.”

While the new facility is being built, the existing emergency room will remain open for the community. “Once the new building is completed, the current Emergency Department space, which was built in 1995, will be retrofitted for other uses,” said Dr. Robert Spence, chief of Emergency Medicine for Baystate Health’s Eastern Region. “The Baystate Mary Lane Emergency Department is appropriately sized for their annual patient volumes of 12,000 emergency visits and will continue to provide 24-hour emergency care in Ware.”

During the early phase of the project, Country Bank pledged ongoing investment in healthcare by donating $1 million to the new Emergency Department. “Country Bank has long been committed to supporting access to local healthcare at Baystate Mary Lane and Baystate Wing Hospital,” said Paul Scully, president and CEO of Country Bank and chair of the Baystate Wing Hospital board of directors. “Our $1 million pledge to this new Emergency Department continues Country Bank’s unwavering support of healthcare in this region.”