Kaweah Delta Emergency Department Construction Updates

Due to our two-year construction project to modernize, expand and improve our Emergency Department facilities, staff and patients may experience some minor changes around the Mineral King Wing through 2019. We thank you for your patience as we work to help meet the needs of our growing community and better serve our patients.

March 2018

Visitors and patients are asked to enter the Mineral King Wing through the temporary entrance located adjacent to the Emergency Department. Once inside, signage will direct you to your intended destinations.

Background

Kaweah Delta Medical Center’s Emergency Department (ED) is one of the busiest in California, caring for approximately 90,000 patients each year. The medical center’s ED was originally designed to support the treatment of 72,000 patients a year. But, as the only trauma center between Fresno and Bakersfield, and one of only two emergency departments serving the nearly 500,000 living in Tulare County, Kaweah Delta is seeing in excess of 250 patients a day, on a regular basis.

Project Description

When patients seek care in Kaweah Delta’s ED, it is important that they receive prompt, efficient and life-saving care. This ED Expansion will modernize, expand and improve Kaweah Delta’s ED facilities to help better serve patients and meet the needs of our growing community. This expansion will bring the community:

• More Space. The number of ED patient beds will nearly double, growing from 41 beds to 74 beds.
• More Comfort. The waiting area will more than double in size to provide 100+ patients and their families with a larger, more comfortable environment. Currently, the ED waiting area can accommodate approximately 65 people.
• More Medical Staff. When complete, there will be more medical providers and nurses providing care in the newly expanded ED.
• More Timely/Efficient Care. Our new fast track area will allow our team to more quickly screen patients, determine the level of their illness or injury, and provide them the precise level of care they need.

Patient/Visitor Impacts

All hospital services will remain open throughout this expansion. Through early 2019, patients/visitors may experience a variety of changes which will include reduced parking around the Mineral King Avenue entrance. During this time, we strongly recommend that hospital visitors and patients use valet parking, whenever possible, or park in the Willow and Acequia parking structures. The city has opened up more all-day parking in these structures and we have added more space for valet parking and more hands to help with this service.

Construction Timeline

Two years (Winter 2017-Summer 2019)

Cost

$32.8 million

Funding

Partial proceeds from the $100 million revenue bonds sold by Kaweah Delta in December 2015. Principal and interest will be repaid to bond holders from revenues received by Kaweah Delta for providing patient care services.