Medical City Fort Worth will cut the ribbon on its new 90,000 square-foot patient tower on Monday, celebrating the completion of a facility that will bring a new emergency department and intensive care unit to the Fort Worth Medical District.
The three story tower will house a new emergency room on the first floor, a 28-bed ICU and targeted neuroscience beds on the second floor, and the third floor will be shelved for future expansion. The roof will have a helipad, allowing for critical transport for the hospital’s outlying patients.
The new ER will replace the existing one and include 30 ER bays, two of which are trauma bays, and all of which are equipped to treat adults or children. The expansion will be 60 percent larger than what exists now and include a new CT scanner and X-ray equipment, according to Jyric Sims, Medical City Fort Worth CEO and President.
The building was constructed with future expansion in mind as the region continues to grow. The three-story building has the capability to add four floors on top, rather than build on more land. The new building has increased natural light, a better streamlined workflow, and more comfort and privacy for patients. The ambulance drop-off area has been reconfigured and improved, and the ER has been redesigned to better sort patients based on their acuity.
The current ER and ICU will be repurposed into surgical and outpatient areas, where the hospital was bursting at the seems, Sims says. He also said the older part of the hospital will be updated to match the aesthetic of the new tower. “It really gives future patients a comfortable environment,” Sims says. “It allow patients and family members to be readily accessible.”
Sims credits the hospital’s expansion to the growth of Fort Worth and the addition of programs and physician groups at Medical City Fort Worth, opening up new patient populations such as neurosurgery and transplants.
“There will be more space to care for patients,” Sims says. “We want to incorporate the family into the process.”
There will be a ribbon-cutting on Monday at 11 a.m. at the new tower at 800 9th Ave. Fort Worth, TX 76104. Patient treatment will begin on Wednesday.
