Phoebe Ready to Begin Treating Patients in New Trauma & Critical Care Tower
Albany, GA | January 14, 2024 – Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital’s (PPMH) Trauma & Critical Care Tower will officially open at 6 a.m. on Wednesday, January 15 when the new Emergency & Trauma Center begins accepting patients. Starting at 6:00 a.m., emergency patients and visitors arriving to the hospital will be welcomed at the new 4th Avenue entrance off Jefferson Street. Patients can be dropped off at the tower’s main entrance and convenient parking is available in a new surface parking lot in front of the building.
“Emergency patients who have arrived and registered prior to 6 a.m. on Wednesday will remain in the existing emergency room for the duration of their care. After the final patient has been cared for, the current ER will be closed and prepared for demolition and renovation of that space over the next 10 months. When that work is finished, it will connect to the new portion of the Emergency & Trauma Center to create one large, seamless ER that will be nearly three times the size of our current emergency center,” said PPMH President Deb Angerami.
Phoebe has worked closely with first responders and law enforcement, offering tours and training on new processes related to the Emergency & Trauma Center. The improvements include a larger and more efficient ambulance bay. “Our current ER has limited space for ambulances, and it is not easy for ambulances to park in the patient unloading area. The new and expanded ambulance bay was designed in partnership with EMS leaders and has five ambulance spaces with convenient overflow areas. The entire area is covered, and ambulances can pull directly into a parking spot without having to back into the patient unloading area. It provides a safer and faster way to get patients into our ER,” said Phoebe Medical Director for Emergency Services James Black, MD. 
After the new Emergency & Trauma Center is up and running, the critical care team will move patients from the current Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU) to the new SICU in the tower. The final move of the day will take place in the afternoon as the team in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) safely transitions the hospital’s smallest patients into a beautiful, soothing new space that allows for increased connection and privacy for NICU babies and their families.
Phoebe’s physicians, staff and leaders have been preparing to welcome the community into the new tower through hands-on training in the new building. “We’ve been planning for this for months, and we developed and practiced a transfer process that will be as safe as possible for patients. Our new units are ready to go, and our patients will receive high quality, compassionate care in a beautifully designed facility with new, modern and efficient spaces,” Angerami said.
Any visitors going to the hospital to see patients in the Emergency & Trauma Center, NICU or SICU should park in front of the new tower and check in at the tower entrance. Initially, waiting area space for the Emergency & Trauma Center will be limited as Phase 2 of the project is completed. Adult patients in the ER will be limited to one visitor and minor patients will be limited to two visitors in the emergency waiting room. Additional visitors may be allowed to be with patients once they are in treatment areas.
“We look forward to completion of Phase 2 later this year which will bring greater connectivity to our current building and will greatly expand our Emergency & Trauma Center space. We hope our community will continue to pardon our progress as we finish work on what is truly a transformational facility that will enhance the outstanding healthcare provided at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital,” Angerami said.