Yvette C. Hammett PHOTO
Top brass from Brandon Regional Hospital cut the ribbon Oct. 24 for the hospital’s new Pediatric ER, which has 16 beds for children.
Three years in the making, the last phase of Brandon Regional Hospital’s $60 million emergency room remodel and expansion is officially complete, with the final phase — a pediatric emergency room — unveiled and now open to local families.
The hospital saved the “very best for last,” said hospital CEO Bland Eng during a ribbon-cutting ceremony Oct. 24 with the Greater Riverview Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Brandon Chamber of Commerce.
The Brandon area is a young community, Eng said, with the local average age 39. That means there are many youngsters who will benefit from the new unit, staffed with specialists who know how to treat and care for children, both physically and psychologically, he said.
“For many years, we’ve dabbled with pediatrics and the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit),” he said. Now, the hospital has a 16-bed emergency care unit just for children, with two beds devoted to resuscitation and two for isolation cases.
For years, people have said Brandon Regional flies small planes, said Dr. Subhankar Bandyopadhyay, known to staff and patients as Dr. Bandy. “Today, we’re flying the Airbus 318. Welcome aboard.”
The brightly colored pediatric ER rooms sport handmade blankets and pillowcases on each bed, courtesy of Project Linus, a national volunteer group with local chapters whose members make blankets for youngsters.
Teddy bears wearing scrubs and masks are scattered throughout the unit. Walls are painted bright blue and green.
With these new dedicated children’s beds, the hospital will be able to operate more efficiently, serve more people and provide family-centered care, said hospital spokeswoman Natalia Diaz.
“Twenty-five million kids are seen in emergency rooms each year,” Dr. Bandy said. “Ninety-five percent of them are served in general emergency departments, with only 5 percent served in units like this.
“Children are not small adults,” he said. “We don’t want them in a threatening environment.” The staff hired for the new pediatric ER specialize in children’s care, he said.
From left, Chief Nursing Officer Kyle Thrift, Dr. Subhankar Bandyopadhyay, pediatric medical director, Amy Wood, nurse manager and Elizabeth Durrence, COO for Brandon Regional Hospital stand in one of the new rooms at Brandon Regional’s Pediatric ER.
Most of the differences between treating adults and treating children are psychological reasons, said Candice Ramesar, RN, vice president of emergency services.
Techs, emergency medical technicians and child life therapists all have special training for dealing with children’s issues, she said. “They all have the nuances of caring for kids and families.”
It’s a no-cry zone, she said of the unit. If one child is crying, the room is closed off so other children won’t hear and be fearful.
“We are the people that know kids,” she went on. “We are working on how to alleviate fears and anxiety.”
Pediatrician Gerard Hough said he moved here in 1980 when Brandon Regional was just 2 years old. “We used to take kids to TGH (Tampa General Hospital). Now, they don’t have to go far.
“This is a sacred moment,” he said of the unit’s grand opening. “We, as a people, should value and take care of each other in a sacred way,” he said to loud applause.
“It’s a day I’ve dreamed about,” Hough said.
“It’s not really about the building,” Ramesar said. “It’s about the people and the clinicians within these walls.”
In all, the remodeled ER with the new pediatric wing is 45,000 square feet.
