Hospital ER: Yes, we're still open
By Jackeline Leon, Staff Writer
UNION, NJ - Six months after Union Hospital put an end to acute care services, the facility’s emergency department remains open and has become a model, or sorts, for other New Jersey Hospitals that plan to operate Satellite Licensed Emergency Departments or SLED.
After Union Hospital shut its doors on Sept. 20, 2007, Summit-based Overlook Hospital — which is a part of Atlantic Health — took over the emergency center, which continues to operate with a full staff of nurses and physicians, despite the lack of acute care services in the rest of the facility.
Statewide, other hospitals facing closure, such as Muhlenberg Hospital, regard Overlook Hospital’s Union campus as a guidepost of how to handle the transition from a full acute care facility to just a SLED.
According to Chief Nursing Officer for Overlook Hospital, Mary Pat Sullivan, the transformation that took place at Union Hospital was historic.
“It’s the first time a hospital closed and a different entity took over, making it a very complex process,” Sullivan said. She added this was a first in the state and perhaps in the nation to make such a transformation.
The transition to a SLED, which commenced six weeks prior to the closing of the hospital, involved preparations to upgrade the emergency room, which now stands alone in the large Galloping Hill Road facility.
A Picture and Communications System, or PACS, allows radiological images to be viewed easily for efficient treatment of patients and the information can also be easily relayed to affiliate hospitals such as Morristown Memorial Hospital.
“Communication is going very well,” Pam Garretson, public relations manager for Morristown Memorial Hospital, said.
Computers on Wheels, or COWS, as the nursing staff calls them, are computers that can be wheeled into patient rooms for fast patient data processing.
Although some had speculated the emergency department would also eventually close, officials say the center seems to be experiencing success as a satellite emergency medical facility. An average of 60 patients are treated there each day.
“Most are the type of patients we would’ve expected to see,” Sullivan said. “We certainly do have some that need to be hospitalized.”
She specified that many of those patients are transported to Overlook Hospital in Summit.
“But if they have a relationship with a specific physician at another hospital, they can go to that hospital for continuity reasons,” she added.
The turnaround time per patient is an average of two hours, total. According to Charles D. Smith, one of the two clinical coordinators at the Union ED, results are attained very quickly. Within 15 minutes of entry into the ED, patients can expect to begin receiving treatment.
There are 80 staff members including physicians, nurses and ambulance staff, with 30 specialist doctors on-call compared to eight on-call doctors when the hospital was fully operational last year. Sullivan suggested that the good staffing and easy access are responsible for efficiency.
“But I think the infrastructure of the hospital surrounding the ER, in some ways, does slow down the ER, because the care does become a bit diluted,” Sullivan said.
Smith said the knowledge base and level of expertise for each staff member has increased because each person is expected to know more in order to provide better and more efficient health care service.
“I love it here and I really want to see this place succeed,” Smith said. “The only thing is that the community doesn’t know we’re still here.”
On average, five patients are sent to Overlook per day with two or three patients a week sent to area hospitals. A dozen emergency squads bring patients to the Union emergency room per day from Union, Roselle, Roselle Park, Garwood and Kenilworth. Special ambulatory service is also available for cardiac patients when saving time can mean saving a person’s life. According to recent patient and employee satisfaction surveys, the overall percentage of satisfaction was at the “90th percentile.”
Security Officer Neil Sullivan has worked in security for 16 years and has been employed at the hospital for the past six years. For him, the decision to reapply to continue working at the hospital was easy.
“I live in the area,” Neil said. “I’m used to the hospital and people are used to me and I’m used to them.”
He said a familiar face is important to patients and that’s what he strives to provide.The main area of the hospital, which remains closed to the public, is currently being looked at by prospective buyers.
“We’re anxious for the rest of the building to be operationalized, especially if there are other like-minded non-profit organizations put there,” Mary Pat said.
Currently, the hospital is in the process of installing signage near the Union ED on both Galloping Hill Road and Chestnut Street for greater visibility and to direct patients to the emergency room. The signs are expected to be installed by next week. Mary Pat said that even though Overlook Hospital is only 12 to 15 minutes away from the Union satellite emergency center, the intent of the SLED is to provide residents with treatment in their own town.
She said psychiatric patients, women in later-term pregnancy and assisted life support transfers are transferred to full-service hospitals.
“It’s important for people to know that this is an adult and pediatric service facility,” Garretson said.
Union Hospital, a former affiliate of the Saint Barnabas Health Care System, officially closed late last year despite overwhelming concern and protest from the public and employees. Earlier last year, Barry Ostrowsky, executive vice president of the Saint Barnabas Health Care System, cited $40 million in overall financial losses as a primary factor in the closing of the hospital.
In the months prior to its official closing, plans had been made to have Elizabeth-based Trinitas Hospital take over. On April 1, SBHCS filed a certificate of need with the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, expressing a need to close the facility. There were public meetings and proposals to keep the hospital’s acute care services operational, but even the efforts of major political figures were not enough to keep the doors of Union Hospital open.
Jackeline Leon can be reached at 908-686-7000, ext. 126, or unionleader@thelocalsource.com.
After Union Hospital shut its doors on Sept. 20, 2007, Summit-based Overlook Hospital — which is a part of Atlantic Health — took over the emergency center, which continues to operate with a full staff of nurses and physicians, despite the lack of acute care services in the rest of the facility.
Statewide, other hospitals facing closure, such as Muhlenberg Hospital, regard Overlook Hospital’s Union campus as a guidepost of how to handle the transition from a full acute care facility to just a SLED.
According to Chief Nursing Officer for Overlook Hospital, Mary Pat Sullivan, the transformation that took place at Union Hospital was historic.
“It’s the first time a hospital closed and a different entity took over, making it a very complex process,” Sullivan said. She added this was a first in the state and perhaps in the nation to make such a transformation.
The transition to a SLED, which commenced six weeks prior to the closing of the hospital, involved preparations to upgrade the emergency room, which now stands alone in the large Galloping Hill Road facility.
A Picture and Communications System, or PACS, allows radiological images to be viewed easily for efficient treatment of patients and the information can also be easily relayed to affiliate hospitals such as Morristown Memorial Hospital.
“Communication is going very well,” Pam Garretson, public relations manager for Morristown Memorial Hospital, said.
Computers on Wheels, or COWS, as the nursing staff calls them, are computers that can be wheeled into patient rooms for fast patient data processing.
Although some had speculated the emergency department would also eventually close, officials say the center seems to be experiencing success as a satellite emergency medical facility. An average of 60 patients are treated there each day.
“Most are the type of patients we would’ve expected to see,” Sullivan said. “We certainly do have some that need to be hospitalized.”
She specified that many of those patients are transported to Overlook Hospital in Summit.
“But if they have a relationship with a specific physician at another hospital, they can go to that hospital for continuity reasons,” she added.
The turnaround time per patient is an average of two hours, total. According to Charles D. Smith, one of the two clinical coordinators at the Union ED, results are attained very quickly. Within 15 minutes of entry into the ED, patients can expect to begin receiving treatment.
There are 80 staff members including physicians, nurses and ambulance staff, with 30 specialist doctors on-call compared to eight on-call doctors when the hospital was fully operational last year. Sullivan suggested that the good staffing and easy access are responsible for efficiency.
“But I think the infrastructure of the hospital surrounding the ER, in some ways, does slow down the ER, because the care does become a bit diluted,” Sullivan said.
Smith said the knowledge base and level of expertise for each staff member has increased because each person is expected to know more in order to provide better and more efficient health care service.
“I love it here and I really want to see this place succeed,” Smith said. “The only thing is that the community doesn’t know we’re still here.”
On average, five patients are sent to Overlook per day with two or three patients a week sent to area hospitals. A dozen emergency squads bring patients to the Union emergency room per day from Union, Roselle, Roselle Park, Garwood and Kenilworth. Special ambulatory service is also available for cardiac patients when saving time can mean saving a person’s life. According to recent patient and employee satisfaction surveys, the overall percentage of satisfaction was at the “90th percentile.”
Security Officer Neil Sullivan has worked in security for 16 years and has been employed at the hospital for the past six years. For him, the decision to reapply to continue working at the hospital was easy.
“I live in the area,” Neil said. “I’m used to the hospital and people are used to me and I’m used to them.”
He said a familiar face is important to patients and that’s what he strives to provide.The main area of the hospital, which remains closed to the public, is currently being looked at by prospective buyers.
“We’re anxious for the rest of the building to be operationalized, especially if there are other like-minded non-profit organizations put there,” Mary Pat said.
Currently, the hospital is in the process of installing signage near the Union ED on both Galloping Hill Road and Chestnut Street for greater visibility and to direct patients to the emergency room. The signs are expected to be installed by next week. Mary Pat said that even though Overlook Hospital is only 12 to 15 minutes away from the Union satellite emergency center, the intent of the SLED is to provide residents with treatment in their own town.
She said psychiatric patients, women in later-term pregnancy and assisted life support transfers are transferred to full-service hospitals.
“It’s important for people to know that this is an adult and pediatric service facility,” Garretson said.
Union Hospital, a former affiliate of the Saint Barnabas Health Care System, officially closed late last year despite overwhelming concern and protest from the public and employees. Earlier last year, Barry Ostrowsky, executive vice president of the Saint Barnabas Health Care System, cited $40 million in overall financial losses as a primary factor in the closing of the hospital.
In the months prior to its official closing, plans had been made to have Elizabeth-based Trinitas Hospital take over. On April 1, SBHCS filed a certificate of need with the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, expressing a need to close the facility. There were public meetings and proposals to keep the hospital’s acute care services operational, but even the efforts of major political figures were not enough to keep the doors of Union Hospital open.
Jackeline Leon can be reached at 908-686-7000, ext. 126, or unionleader@thelocalsource.com.
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