Smyrna and Clayton area residents can expect a shorter trip to the emergency room soon now that Bayhealth is close to opening a free-standing emergency room in Smyrna.
Bayhealth and local officials unveiled the eight-bed, $3.4 million facility on Delaware 300 Monday. It’s outfitted to treat a wide range of emergencies on site and stabilize more serious cases for transfer to a hospital.
And when it opens, the facility is expected to cut travel time for area emergency patients by about twenty-five minutes.
State Representative Trey Paradee (D-29th District) says that can make a huge difference to those he represents in the 29th District.
"That’s critical. That saves lives. That’s the difference between a family in this area being able to get care within a matter of just a couple of minutes as opposed to either having to go to Dover or to go to Christiana which could take anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes or more. And that’s the difference between somebody surviving and somebody not," said Paradee.
The new center in Smyrna is scheduled to open later this week after a final round of inspections, stocking of supplies and staff orientations.
It is the first of two new emergency facilities opening in the area. Christiana Care is in the process of building its own emergency center in Middletown.