Jamaica Hospital Medical Center held a groundbreaking ceremony for its new Emergency Department (ED) on Friday, June 16th. This is the first major expansion of the hospital’s ED to occur in over three decades.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul joined the hospital in commemorating this momentous occasion as a special guest speaker. The Governor awarded Jamaica Hospital $150 million in funds for the expansion as part of the Statewide Health Care Facility Transformation Program.
“With this new beginning, we say that this community and this hospital matter,” said Governor Hochul. “We’re going to continue working together with this $150 million investment in the future of the health of this community.”
Governor Hochul was joined by over 500 guests in a tent on the site of the new ER. Congressman Gregory Meeks and Queens Borough President Donovan Richards both spoke at the event, praising the Governor’s investment and its potential to help Jamaica Hospital improve healthcare outcomes for the Queens community. Other attendees included Senators Joseph Addabbo and Leroy Comrie, Assemblymembers Alicia Hyndman and David Weprin, and Councilmember Lynn Schulman.
The new ED will double in size and have the capacity to treat over 150,000 patients annually. In addition to increased space, the ED, designed with efficiency and safety in mind, will incorporate a layout that allows for better patient privacy, experience, and safety.
The new Emergency Department design features three additional trauma rooms (bringing the total to four) with negative air pressure to prevent the spread of airborne diseases such as COVID-19. These state-of-the-art trauma rooms, equipped with the latest technology, will also be added to support the demands of the busiest trauma center in New York City.
Another component of the expansion includes the addition of 22 intensive care unit (ICU) beds. The need for an increase in ICU beds was made apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic when Jamaica Hospital found itself at the epicenter of the outbreak treating a surge of critically ill patients.
Jamaica Hospital’s Emergency Department expansion project is expected to be completed by 2027. The expansion will greatly improve access to quality emergency care in Southeast Queens and neighboring communities. “We thank Governor Hochul for supporting and investing in New York Hospitals. Her commitment to building a strong and equitable healthcare system will undoubtedly help our organization and others to provide the highest quality care to the communities we serve,” said Jamaica Hospital President and CEO Bruce J. Flanz.