Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, February 24, 1994                   TAG: 9402240048
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: LAURA WILLIAMSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

EMERGENCY ROOM GETS NEW HOME

Patients who need emergency services will now have to go to a different entrance, hospital spokeswoman Sally Ramey said.

To get to the emergency department from the stoplight in front of the hospital, patients should drive up the hill on Flannagan Lane, between the hospital's new wing and the Crystal Spring Pump House, then turn left into the top level of the parking deck, where security guards will direct patients to one of three emergency entrances. Each entrance is designated for a different type of service.

Patients who go to the old emergency department entrance behind the hospital will find it blocked off, with signs directing them to the new entrance, Ramey said. Hospital security guards also will be posted at the old entrance to help people find their way.

The new emergency department and trauma center are part of Roanoke Memorial's recent $55 million expansion. The facilities have a larger waiting area for patients, one additional nursing station, six more ambulatory beds, five ambulance bays, short-term parking for 14 cars, an expanded registration area and two "quiet rooms."

Ramey said the department was designed to save patients time, which means they will receive better care. For example, the new wing includes a rooftop helicopter landing pad that will save four to eight minutes in getting patients into the hospital. A special elevator from the roof transports patients immediately into the trauma center.