Jefferson Abington Hospital is increasing its emergency department capacity from 80,000 to 100,000 visits per year, officials announced on Tuesday.
The Level II trauma center will be named the Goodman Emergency Trauma Center in honor of an unspecified donation from Montgomery County residents Bruce and Judi Goodman. Bruce Goodman is a commercial real estate developer and a longtime Abington board member, Jefferson said.
The donation kicks off a $30 million fundraising campaign to revamp the department. The redesigned trauma center will feature “calming aesthetics, state-of-the-art triage and treatment areas, modern patient amenities and spaces designed for the high-pressure environment of emergency medicine,” officials said. The project will also reallocate 10,000 additional sf to expand treatment capacity from 80 to 116 spaces, while reconfiguring more than 24,000 square feet of existing clinical space to create a more patient-centered experience.
The expansion is intended “to shorten waits, improve the flow of care, and make every patient’s experience faster, calmer and more supportive from the moment they arrive,” Jefferson Health said in a news release.
“Abington has been there for our family’s most critical moments,” Bruce Goodman said in a statement. “We are honored to help ensure that every family in our community has access to exceptional care in a space that fosters healing.”
“The gift will serve as the cornerstone of a fundraising campaign to modernize and expand the hospital’s emergency department, enhancing capacity, patient flow and the experience for tens of thousands of patients each year,” the news release said.
“This extraordinary gift from Bruce and Judi Goodman reflects a deep commitment to Jefferson and the Abington community,” said Joseph G. Cacchione, MD, CEO of Jefferson. “The Goodman Emergency Trauma Center will allow us to deliver faster, more personalized and more compassionate care.”
In November, Jefferson closed its 23-bed inpatient behavioral health unit to accommodate extra patients in its emergency department.
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