Fairview Southdale Hospital broke ground on its anticipated Carl N. Platou Emergency Center in mid-September. Construction has begun, and the state-of-the-art center is scheduled to open in 2015. It will be named after longtime Fairview leader Platou. The project quadruples the square footage of the emergency department. It will expand trauma facilities and use an innovative model of emergency care designed for faster treatment.
“This new emergency center will help us not only meet, but exceed the high standards set by Carl Platou,” says Bradley Beard, president of Fairview Southdale Hospital. “It will introduce an innovative triage model, maximizing patient and family experience, reducing hospital admissions, improving care outcomes, creating a faster flow through to the most appropriate and cost-efficient care you need, and establishing a focus for patients who suffer from chronic diseases.”
Fairview Southdale opened in 1965 and has since reached maximum capacity and capability for patient care. The emergency department was designed to manage 30,000 visits a year; last year saw nearly 43,000 visits. The new center will have a capacity for 70,000 visits per year.
“The need for both emergency and chronic care will continue to grow as our population ages,” Edina Mayor Jim Hovland said at the groundbreaking. “Today about 20 percent of Edina residents are 65 or older, compared with about 12 percent for the state as a whole.”
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To learn more about the new emergency center, visit Fairview.org/emergencycenter.
