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By Kristin Rothwell, associate editor

Rising from the water's edge on the quaint island of Coronado in San Diego, California, Sharp Coronado Hospital’s emergency department (ED) was recently renovated as part of the facility’s 10-year hospital improvement plan.

Though not yet open, nearly 500 members of the Coronado community, Sharp HealthCare community and foundation and others had the opportunity to tour the new ED at a ribbon-cutting ceremony and community health fair on Oct. 1.

“We’ve never had such a turnout,” said Mark Tamsen, M.D., chief of emergency services at Sharp Coronado. “It points to the idea that this is a renaissance, that we’re reaching out to the community and we’re here to stay.”

Tamsen said that attendees were impressed by how modern the ED space has become and how comforting it appears.

“We chose colors to reflect our surroundings,” he said. “There are blue curves in the floor to show the junction between sea and sand and we have chandeliers. There’s a more upscale resort feel than an institutional feel.”

Katy Green, RN, nurse manager of the emergency department at Sharp Coronado, agreed.

Between the soothing wall colors, soft lighting, comfortable furniture that might be found in a hotel lobby and honey maple cabinetry, Green said the new décor of the ED provides a home-like, relaxing atmosphere that reflects Coronado’s beach resort ambiance.

Tamsen added that the smell of fresh baked cookies made by the hospital’s volunteer staff further enhances the feeling of home.

Though the ED only gained 500 square feet of additional space, Tamsen and Green said the space was maximized to increase the number of beds from five to eight.

Additionally, the renovation included installation of a central cardiac monitoring system, portable ultrasound machines for bedside diagnosis, new charting areas that offer patient privacy and other upgrades to meet a variety of federal regulations, including Americans with Disability Act-compliant spaces.

When the emergency department opened in 1970, Green said it was built for a census of about 250 patients per month, which has since increased to more than 1,000 patients per month.

To ensure that a larger ED was a necessity, Sharp Coronado surveyed residents of Coronado and its surrounding communities. Tamsen said results from the survey showed that the community was overwhelmingly in favor of upgrading the ED.

While Sharp Coronado’s ED had not had any renovations since it opened more than 30 years ago, Tamsen and Green said the ED is proud that it has ranked in the top 1 percent nationally for patient satisfaction by Press Ganey, which measures health care satisfaction and improvement.

“We’ve always had great quality of care and now we have a good face to put on it,” Tamsen said.

Both Tamsen and Green attribute the high patient-satisfaction rating to the great team effort between nurses, physicians and other staff who are dedicated to providing the same quality of care to their patients as they would provide to their own family members.

Though Sharp Coronado remains the only community hospital left in San Diego County, Tamsen and Green said the ED will continue to keep pace while keeping its small town flavor.

“It’s a rewarding practice for doctors and nurses alike,” Tamsen said. “It’s a pleasant place to see patients.”

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