Griffin Hospital Emergency Department Expansion Complete

Derby, CT – Griffin Hospital’s year-long Emergency Department (ED) expansion project is now complete, increasing the hospital’s number of ED treatment rooms from 14 to 23, including three new dedicated behavioral health crisis intervention rooms.  

Griffin utilized its Planetree design model throughout the expansion to create a more patient-centered healing environment for patients, families, and hospital staff.  In addition to more modern, technologically advanced treatment space, the ED expansion also includes a new main entrance, larger waiting areas, and private triage rooms, all designed to increase operating efficiency and patient comfort while minimizing wait times.

Treatment rooms are identically configured and equipped to accommodate all levels of care, from minor complaints to more serious injury and illness.  New features include bedside registration, a dedicated ED ultrasound unit, and state-of-the-art monitoring equipment, which enables Griffin’s ED physicians to view cardiograms transmitted from ambulances en route to the hospital.  This can speed diagnosis and treatment at a time when every minute counts. 

The completion of the ED expansion has been eagerly anticipated by the hospital’s staff and patients since the project began in December 2008.  “Our team of board-certified, residency trained emergency medicine physicians, certified nurses, and other specially trained emergency department staff share a passion for delivering state-of-the art, patient-centered medical care in our new, Planetree-inspired facility,” said Greg Boris, DO, Emergency Department Director.   “This expansion is absolutely critical to our ongoing ability to accommodate the growing number of patients who seek emergent and urgent care at Griffin Hospital each year."

When constructed as part of the hospital’s East Wing addition in 1968, Griffin’s ED previous ED was designed to accommodate 24,000 patient visits per year.  Now, some 40 years later, Griffin cares for nearly 40,000 ED patients annually. 

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