Beginning this week some emergency room patients at UK Chandler Hospital who’ve been stabilized but are not yet ready for discharge will be sent to a brand new observation unit.
The 9,000 square foot $6M department will be reserved for 12 to 24 patients with symptoms like chest pain, abdominal pain, dehydration, even dizziness. They will be allowed to stay there for up 24 hours as outpatients.
The Herald Leader reports that the observation unit is intended to help reduce overcrowding in the emergency room and the number of patient re-admissions. It’s also expected to cut into the nearly 10 hour 44 minute average time it takes for a patient to pass from the emergency room to a hospital bed. That figure represents the longest wait time in Kentucky and is 41/2 hours longer than the national average, according to the Medicare-specific government website, Hospital Compare.