The Baptist and Wolfson Children's Hospital freestanding ER in Oakleaf.
Baptist Health CEO Brett McClung speaks at the Oakleaf lighting ceremony Wednesday.
Baptist Health officials gather around the button to turn the lights on at Oakleaf.
The children's side of the ER waiting room.
The check-in area for the ER.
A pediatric ER room.
Administration desk on the children's side of the ER.
The children's wing at the Oakleaf ER.
Nurses' station.
One of two resuscitation rooms inside the ER.
11. A CT room with a kid-friendly ceiling.
Baptist Health will open its fourth freestanding emergency department Friday in Oakleaf.
The facility is at 9868 Family Place, at Argyle Forest Boulevard and Merchants Way.
Construction on the $23 million project began seven months ago, said Vice President of Ambulatory Campuses Darin Roark.
The 19,000-square-foot ER, similar to Baptist’s freestanding centers at the Town Center, Clay County and Baptist North, will be split into a pediatric and adult wings.
“This is an innovative way to do this,” Baptist Health CEO Brett McClung said at a lighting ceremony Wednesday. “(Other health care systems) don’t have the ability and the luxury and the legacy to be able to do what we do behind us with one roof and two different emergency rooms. This center really reflects the needs of this growing community.”
The ER has 20 beds, a helicopter pad, full-service laboratory, CT scanner, X-ray and resuscitation rooms.
Building an ER specifically for pediatrics would have been too costly, said Michael Aubin, president of Wolfson Children’s Hospital. Splitting the pediatric and adult medical services reduces the cost of medical equipment, making it affordable to bring pediatric emergency care to various communities, he said.
“All of a sudden you’ve got a service that you can afford in this community that many, many centers around the country cannot afford,” Aubin said.
Aubin said 8,000 pediatric patients were seen at Baptist’s three existing freestanding ERs last month.
“It’s a big community out here waiting for the same thing,” Aubin said.
A second phase is planned at the 8.6-acre Family Place property that McClung said would be a medical office building. He said Baptist would collaborate with the community to determine what’s needed most in that space.
“We really do want to bring our services to where our people are,” McClung said. “We want to meet you where you are.”
