Pending the results of a March 25 inspection by the Pa. Department of Health, officials at the St. Luke's Anderson Campus are projecting that a $4 million expansion of the facility's emergency department will be operational beginning April 1.

During a recent tour of the nearly completed 11,000-square-foot expansion, Director of Emergency Medicine Dr. Rebecca Pequeno and Patient Care Manager Mark Lohman pointed out a 300 percent increase in emergency services volume since the Nov. 11, 2011, opening was the driving force behind the fast-tracked project. Groundbreaking took place this past November.

The expanded emergency department includes 24 new rooms and has a number of features incorporated to give the hospital greater flexibility and capacity, especially in the event of a mass casualty situation. A bariatric room for overweight patients, behavioral areas, a three-bay resuscitation area, a decontamination room and built-in surge capacity give the hospital the ability to handle varied fast track and acute cases.

Pequeno and Lohman said increased demand has been greatly influenced by the hospital's strategic location at Freemansburg Avenue and Pa. routes 33, not far from the junction of Route 33 and I-78, noting that more traffic has been coming from the Stroudsburg and Slate Belt areas, as well as western New Jersey. They said the original ER's projected daily census was achieved in the first two days of its 2011 opening.

"We're excited and it's much needed," Pequeno said of the additional space the expansion provides.

"We're also excited about maintaining an excellent work culture because we have a very close-knit team."

Lohman said inventory for the facility was already in onsite storage, with work items such as surgical lighting, information technology and medication dispensing machines yet to be installed prior to final inspection. Once completed, the ER will employ about 55 full-time medical personnel, up from the current 20.

When the new addition is opened April 1, the original area will undergo a retrofit that will convert some existing rooms into CAT scan and radiology suites. That work is anticipated to be complete by late summer.

In addition, St. Luke's will pay for additional roadway improvements at the nearby Freemansburg Avenue-Route 33 interchange.

Staff will undergo a walk-through and education days in the new area in order to familiarize themselves prior to its opening.