'Highest Number of Patients Ever' Utilize Banning Hospital's ER

Those seeking emergency or intensive care at Banning's local hospital will now find themselves in new, expanded facilities.

The hospital's new emergency room and intensive care unit building officially opened for use on May 14.  And it's apparently been getting a lot of use.

In the 24 hour period from Monday to Tuesday this week, the department treated the most amount of people in such a time frame in its 62-year history.

"We opened the new intensive care and ICU exactly one week ago today," San Gorgonio Memorial Hospital's Lynn Baldi told the Beaumont City Council on Tuesday night.  "In the last 24 hours, the last 24 hour complete shift, in the emergency room at San Gorgonio Memorial Hospital, we served the highest number of patients ever in the history of the hospital."

Baldi said a total of 135 patients were treated in that time span.

Part of the reason so many people could be seen can be attributed to the fact that the hospital has more than doubled its ER/ICU capacity.  

[RELATED:  Check out a photo tour of the new Emergency Department and Intensive Care Unit here.]

The new ICU has 16 beds for patients, up from just six.   The ER has has 23 new beds– which was originally ten beds, according to Baldi.  Officials say the building is approximately 39,500 square feet in size.

"The new state-of-the-art facility incorporates the latest in healthcare technology along with enhanced patient care features, like bedside charting," hospital spokeswoman Molly Ellis said.  "In addition, the new building meets the growing population of the San Gorgonio Pass region, healthcare technology trends, and the State of California’s strict seismic mandate."

Construction began in April 2010, and was finished on Jan 10 of this year, according to hospital officials.  Funding came from a $108 million "general obligation bond" passed by voters in 2006, according to Ellis.

As a part of this project, crews are also remodeling and expanding existing kitchen facilities at the hospital, according to Baldi.  The first phase of that also opened on May 14.

"The next step in modernizing the hospital, originally built in 1951, is to construct a 6-story, 120-private bed Patient Care Building, which will house the new main lobby, imaging center, four-room surgical operating suite, central sterile processing, pharmacy, gift shop, and more," Ellis said.

That Patient Care building is expected to be compete in 2017.

San Gorgonio Memorial Hospital is located at 600 North Highland Springs Avenue in Banning. For  more information about the hospital and its services, call 951-845-1121 or visit www.sgmh.org.