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South Miami Hospital’s new state-of-the-art Emergency Center and Surgical Suites opened for patient care in January. The two-story, 80,000 square foot addition is the most significant expansion project in the hospital’s 52-year history and the first component of a multi-phase expansion and renovation project to enhance hospital services and patient experiences.
 
“Combining a multimillion-dollar investment with a reputation for high-quality, compassionate care and service excellence solidifies South Miami Hospital’s long-standing commitment to meet the healthcare needs of our community,” said Lincoln Mendez, chief executive officer of South Miami Hospital.
 
The new Emergency Center nearly doubled in size from the old one. It has 27 beds, including 22 private rooms, and will expand to a total of 39 beds by the end of the year. The new space has warm, modern décor and amenities designed for patient and family comfort, and a large, open centralized work station for nurses and physicians.
 
The new Emergency Center also has a trauma room for stabilizing critically ill and injured patients, and a room dedicated for treating heart attack patients. Both rooms feature built-in electronic intensive care unit (eICU) – a computerized system that allows an intensivist and specially trained critical care nurses to monitor patients’ medical conditions electronically 24-hours a day, adding an extra set of highly-trained eyes and ears to assist bedside caregivers.
 
More than 30,000 patients will be treated in South Miami Hospital’s Emergency Center this year. The number of patients treated at the new Emergency Center since its opening in January is 10 percent higher than the same period in 2012. Among the most common reasons people come to South Miami Hospital’s Emergency Center are chest pain, abdominal pain, respiratory problems, high blood pressure and complications from diabetes.
 
South Miami Hospital’s Emergency Center also has a nationally-accredited Heart Attack Unit, where a specially trained team strives to assess patients quickly and provide the live-saving care they need, including interventional treatment such as cardiac catheterization. The heart attack team consistently performs angioplasty in less than 60 minutes of a patient’s arrival at the Emergency Center – surpassing American Heart Association guidelines of 90 minutes or less.
 
South Miami Hospital’s new Surgical Suites house 16 large operating rooms equipped with the latest equipment and technology to support advanced surgical procedures, including thousands of robotic-assisted surgeries performed each year at The Center for Robotic Surgery at South Miami Hospital. The Center’s robotic systems enable surgeons to virtually extend their eyes and hands into patients’ bodies, helping to make complex operations more precise and less traumatic. Several surgeons at The Center for Robotic Surgery at South Miami Hospital are considered pioneers in the robotic surgery industry.
 
Surgeons affiliated with South Miami Hospital perform nearly all types of procedures, including cardiac and thoracic, gynecological, urological, neurological, vascular and weight-loss surgery. Complementing the new Surgical Suites are an observation gallery for physician and staff training and 36 pre- and post-procedure rooms.