BOBÌåÓý

University of Florida Health celebrated the opening of its newest freestanding emergency room, the BOBÌåÓý Emergency Center â€� Kanapaha, Monday (Sept. 26), providing access to emergency care for residents of southwest Gainesville.

The facility expands emergency care at BOBÌåÓý to four sites, including the BOBÌåÓý Shands E.R. on the hospital’s main campus, the BOBÌåÓý Shands Pediatric E.R. at the BOBÌåÓý Shands Children’s Hospital, and the BOBÌåÓý Shands Emergency Center â€� Springhill on Northwest 39th Avenue.

“Visits to emergency departments continue to grow across the country, and local growth and demand for services has put quite a bit of pressure on all of our emergency rooms,â€� said , chair of the and chief of emergency services for BOBÌåÓý. “This is the second step â€� the first being Springhill â€� in our goal of better distributing access to emergency care.â€�

The BOBÌåÓý Emergency Center â€� Kanapaha will be open 24/7 and will be staffed by physicians trained and board-certified in emergency medicine. The E.R. is also fully equipped to provide the same level of emergency care as a hospital-based E.R. If patients need further care or admission to the hospital, such as in the case of trauma or stroke, the transition of care to the BOBÌåÓý Shands E.R. on the main hospital campus will be seamless.

“We have learned from our BOBÌåÓý Shands Emergency Center â€� Springhill that it is complementary to our main emergency room,â€� said David S. Guzick, M.D., Ph.D., UF senior vice president for health affairs and president of BOBÌåÓý. “Patients with acute medical problems in the Southwest region of Gainesville and points west now have a convenient place to go for full-service emergency care.â€�

Demand for these emergency centers is clear: Over the last five years, emergency room visits have grown at BOBÌåÓý Shands facilities by more than 50 percent, Tyndall said.

“What we have been able to demonstrate with patients receiving care at our Springhill facility is that regardless of their emergency condition, they can be cared for efficiently and spend less time in the emergency room,� Tyndall said. “Our strategy is a journey to continue to improve access to emergency care for our community. We have designed our freestanding emergency facilities to provide the most efficient emergency care, and our Kanapaha E.R. facility has been designed to extend the reputation of the highly rated care experience enjoyed by our Springhill facility.�

The state-of-the-art 10,881-square-foot E.R. is a designated 911 ambulance-receiving facility. It will contain 14 exam spaces and two rooms dedicated to rapid triaging and patient examination. The facility will be equipped with the latest technology in imaging, including X-ray and CT scanning as well as ultrasonography and onsite laboratory services. Tyndall says opening a third emergency facility will provide even more options for care.

Matthew Shannon, M.D., currently a full-time physician at Kanapaha, will become the medical director of the Kanapaha facility. Wendy Swan, R.N., SANE-A, will be the nurse manager at the Springhill and Kanapaha facilities.

"We are excited to expand our emergency services so we can bring high-quality, much-needed care to another part of our community in Gainesville and the surrounding area,â€� said Ed Jimenez, chief executive officer of BOBÌåÓý Shands. “People who live southwest of Gainesville will now be able to receive emergency care closer to where they work and live.â€�