The Lake Pointe Emergency Department at the Forney Medical Plaza will be open for business on Monday, April 1, 2013. Construction crews are hard at work putting all the finishing touches on Forney's newest medical facility, and its only Emergency Department. The construction officially began with a groundbreaking ceremony on September 11, 2012.
Brett Lee, CEO of Lake Pointe Health Network, spoke to the 2013 Leadership Forney class and discussed Lake Pointe's approach of targeting the needs of the Forney community. He said that his goal is to ensure high quality, safe, and effective care for all Lake Pointe medical patients. He shared that he is excited by the warm welcome he and Lake Pointe have received in Forney, and that the employees that will be working at the new Emergency Department are eager to get started. Members of the Lake Pointe staff gave the class a full tour of the Imaging Center as well as the new Emergency Department.
The Forney ED will be the 14th ambulatory Lake Pointe Health Network facility in the DFW area. They have had great success with their Medical Center in Rowlett and believe that Forney's ED will fill a huge medical need in this community. It is already represented in Forney thanks to the Lake Pointe Imaging Center inside the Forney Medical Plaza. The imaging center has been open in Forney for five years and provides MRI's, CT Scans, Mammograms, and Ultrasounds. Now, however, the Imaging Center will be open 24/7 once the Emergency Department opens, in order to serve the needs of ED patients.
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Forney's new Emergency Department will have six beds and will be a primary stroke center. It will have a Helipad and PHI (Primary Helicopter Service) will be its main helicopter service. All of the nurses working at the Forney facility will have at least five years experience. There will be 14 full-time nurses and several PRN nurses will be available at the 8,017 square foot ED.
The Lake Pointe Emergency Department cost $4.2 million to build. Although the ED is not a full-fledged hospital, it is also not an “urgent care facility.” It will be a fully functioning Emergency Department. The facility will be operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It will be a Level III trauma center which means they will provide “immediate coverage by emergency medicine physicians.” They will also have general surgeons and anesthesiologists available.
The key goal of the ED staff will be to provide quick assessment of patient injuries, resuscitation of the patient if needed, and to stabilize the patient. If a patient needs to be admitted Lake Pointe will transfer them, once stabilized, to the hospital of their choice. If the patient chooses to go to the Lake Pointe Medical Center in Rowlett, they will be transported via ambulance at no additional cost to the patient.
In addition to the much needed new level of medical coverage in Forney, the Lake Pointe ED will also provide new jobs in the community, as well as an increased tax base.