“To have a space where patients and families can be more comfortable is really wonderful for our team.”
Crystal Walton is smiling as she looks around at the newly renovated Emergency Department waiting area at Dartmouth General Hospital, just a few hours before it is scheduled to open to the public.
“It’s been due for an upgrade,” says Crystal, the Assistant Health Services Manager at DGH. “This is beautiful, it’s bright, the space is open. It’s fresh and new.”
The waiting area has seen a redesign with a new registration desk, an anchored space for volunteers, and the two triage rooms now side by side.
“We have these two triage spaces where we have everything we need to do a proper assessment,” says Crystal.
The renovations have been designed to create better flow for patients and staff, while also improving the experience of those who are waiting. Comfortable new chairs fill the space, with seating for 57 people, ten more than before.
“There were times we would have to come out and ask the family member of a loved one if they could give up their seat, because we’d have patients that didn’t have anywhere to sit,” says Crystal.
There’s also a water refill station, updated vending machines with fresh food options, new flooring and fresh paint. Outlets throughout the space can be used as device charging stations.
“It may seem like a small thing but it’s something that would come up frequently because patients may be here longer than anticipated,” says Crystal. “People would come up to triage and ask if we could charge phones for them and we would do it. Our phones are our lifelines these days so to have charging stations at the seats is so helpful.”
Another small improvement with big impact is the ability to dim the lights through the night.
“This just changes the atmosphere,” says Crystal. “When it’s two or three o’clock in the morning and you are not feeling well and are still going to be waiting, you may want to rest your eyes. This is just another way we can add to the comfort of people here.”
This renovation project took shape with a tight timeline, over just a few weeks. Crystal says the temporary emergency waiting area in the Diagnostic Imaging Department at Dartmouth General worked seamlessly during that time.
“It went very well,” she says. “The support we received from the diagnostic imaging staff and the cardiac investigation staff was wonderful.”
Funding for the waiting room renovation project came through a $5 million donation in December from Lisa O’Regan, the largest contribution in Dartmouth General Hospital’s history. The gift was made in memory of Lisa’s late husband, Sean O’Regan, a celebrated community champion and CEO of O’Regan’s Automotive Group. The waiting room refresh represents just a portion of the transformative impact of that donation for the hospital. Other generous donors included Mike and Audrey Myrick, Ruth Rodd, Holly Gunn and the Dartmouth General Hospital Auxiliary.
“I could cry, honestly,” says Crystal Walton, with tears in her eyes. “It’s so nice to know that we have people in our community that want to support us. We work hard here, and we do the best we can with what we have. Dartmouth General is a special place, and we are so lucky to have the Foundation and generous donors like Lisa O’Regan. It affects not just the comfort of the people coming through our door, but it improves our working space. It’s wonderful.”
