But officials said the first phase of expansion at Millard Fillmore Suburban is needed immediately to respond to the demand for services. The suburban hospital opened on Maple Road as a satellite to the larger facility on Gates Circle in the city. But it is now bursting at the seams. There are no longer enough operating rooms to handle the number of surgery cases, which forces doctors to take cases elsewhere or to push non-emergency operations into the evening hours. The emergency department, which records about 35,000 visits a year, is regularly crammed beyond capacity.
People end up waiting a long time.
There's less privacy. And it's very chaotic. We're used to it, but patients are not. The hospital also is adding nine beds and increasing the size of its parking lot, which is often clogged with cars. The new emergency department will include separate waiting areas for walk-in patients with minor medical issues and those with serious emergencies.