In Our View: UKKD Emergency Department

Yahoo

07-05-2025

This coming Saturday, UK-KDMC will have an open house of the massive new emergency room facility on Central Avenue.
This needed addition has been through a lengthy planning and construction phase for a few years. Building a facility of this size was a complex project. The 200,000-square-foot facility will greatly expand the emergency department, have a welcoming center, and have image services. Additional services will be part of the new addition over the course of the next year.
Planning and construction of this facility was an enormous challenge. A few complexities include property acquisition, design to create proper flow of patients, closing streets, and getting visitors into the main hospital. We can't imagine the amount of infrastructure required within the buildings to achieve this.
Hospitals are much more computerized than decades ago. So much internal diagnoses are done electronically. Of course, doctors and countless health care professionals are required to make proper health care happen. Think of the popular MyChart application on your cellphone or computer. UK-KDMC was the first in our area to use this technology. Now, you can often see your test results as your physician does. MyChart is a universal program. If you're in another state, there's a good chance a hospital can access your health care history from UK-KDMC.
Construction managers and workers did wonders in minimizing disruption of vehicular traffic during construction. Such an undertaking requires heavy equipment operating in a somewhat confined space.
Central Avenue from 22nd to 25th Streets has been converted to two-way traffic. Please, don't make this a speedway. We encourage drivers to ease up on the gas in this area. More pedestrian traffic and drivers getting accustomed to the new driving pattern will require special attention by area drivers.
There's a good chance all of us will end up in the emergency room someday. Make a visit during open house this Saturday between 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. You won't be admitted as a patient (hopefully) plus you'll see a state-of-the-art facility.