Our Need

When Highlands opened in 1973, the Emergency Department design was based on 10,000 patient visits per year. The Department was small and consisted of three rooms, one of which was a dedicated Cardiac Room. Growth during the 1970s occurred quickly. Patients were coming to Highlands from all over the region including Pike, Knott, and Lawrence counties. A growing number of physicians, clinics, and other hospitals began to rely on Highlands' sophisticated lab and diagnostic capabilities for tests and exams, as well as medical and surgical procedures. The need for additional space for the ED and other areas became critical and in 1985, a new 47-bed, 54,000-square-foot wing was added. Included in the construction was a new 11-bed Emergency Department with 24-hour physician staffing. The new Emergency Department was state-of-the-art for the 1980s and was designed to serve an expanded count of 15,000 patient visits per year.

During the decades of the 1980s and 1990s, regional growth continued at an even faster pace after the coal industry made a "comeback" in eastern Kentucky. Increased job opportunities resulted in an increase in the area's population and a greater demand for emergency services, as well as other general healthcare services. Before the end of the 1990s, Highlands' Emergency Department was seeing over 25,000 patients each year in a space designed to accommodate 15,000 visits per year. Plainly stated - therea re not enough beds to treat the numbers of patients presenting in the ED for care. The Waiting Room is too small and increasingly is overcrowded with people waiting to see the doctor. Many times there are more people waiting than there are seats to accommodate them. Wait times are tracked for quality assurance but, at an average of 155 minutes (which is well below the national average of 240 minutes), the time seems longer due to the crowded conditions.

Highlands' Emergency Department physicians are highly trained specialists dedicated in emergency care, and the nursing staff is skilled as well as experienced. They work in cramped spaces to provide care and save lives. When multiple-accident victims arrive who are in life-threatening situations, stretchers and beds have to be quickly reconfigured to accommodate them. Lack of patient privacy in the existing Emergency Department presents a real problem. Only a curtain separates cubicles where patients wait to see physicians. Conversations between the doctor and patient can easily be overheard due to the antiquated facility. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations has recently begun addressing patient privacy issues in Emergency Departments during its survey process.