A newly renovated emergency room opened Wednesday at the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, several years after a national report found the hospital had longer-than-average wait times.
The renovation, which began three years ago, creates larger treatment rooms for cardiac patients and new waiting areas. It also brings modernized equipment and increased capacity for negative pressure rooms, which the hospital system said are commonly used for COVID-19 patients.
The renovations also include geriatric-friendly rooms, equipped to treat older veterans. Forty percent of the VA's emergency room visits are for veterans 65 years and older, compared to 15% in the private sector, according to the hospital system.
More renovations will soon follow, including additional treatment rooms. The emergency room's capacity will be twice its former size upon completion, and will also include dedicated space for emergency mental health crises, said hospital spokesperson Michael Compeau.
A 2019 USA Today analysis found long wait times at many VA hospitals. The 2019 data, from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, found the average wait time at the Cleveland VA Medical Center was 4.5 hours, which was longer than wait times at non-VA hospitals, USA Today said.
But the Cleveland VA Medical Center's emergency department now averages better visit times than nearby Cleveland Clinic Main Campus and University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, according to Medicare's website. The Cleveland VA emergency room averages a 177-minute visit time compared to Cleveland Clinic's 185 minutes and UH's 264 minutes. The national average is 193 minutes.
The Cleveland VA's emergency room is classified as medium volume, while those at the Cleveland Clinic and UH are considered high volume. The Cleveland VA's ER treated more than 23,000 visitors during its previous fiscal year, the hospital system said.
Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center is the third largest VA medical center in the country, according to the National Association of Veterans’ Research and Education Foundations.
