Marian Regional Medical Center: New Pediatric Emergency Department helps meet demand of COVID-19
SANTA MARIA, Calif. - One of the newest departments at Marian Regional Medical Center is being used to help meet the demands of COVID-19 in Santa Maria.
Doctors at the medical center say the newly built Pediatric Emergency Department has become "crucial" in their ability to treat incoming patients during the pandemic.
"We're ending up using the beds for sick adults ... which ... thank goodness we have that space ... or we wouldn't have as many beds as we need to be able to serve the adults in our community," said Dr. Alicia Gonzalez of Marian Regional Medical Center.
Hospital leaders and donors unveiled the new Rancho Guadalupe Pediatric Emergency Department in July 2021.
"The biggest thing that we got out of it was that we created momentum in the valley ... many other people contributed to this project," said donor Dick Donati.
The new addition of the 2,000 square foot facility includes seven pediatric beds, a nurse's station and a newly designed lobby.
The added beds brings the total Emergency Department beds to 42.
This includes private adult rooms.
"We have started to use every single area of our emergency department almost the same ... we can take care of a COVID patient ... a non-COVID patient ... a child ... an adult ... anywhere. That's one of the beauties of emergency medicine," said Gonzalez.
Doctors say the new facility came at a good time, as the hospital continues to see more adult patients including those ill with COVID-19.
"There are times when we are using literally every single bed in our ER ... and that includes all of the ones in that pediatric unit," said Gonzalez."
