AMERICAN FORK, Utah -- American Fork Hospital's newly expanded surgical wing and emergency room will become operational Monday.
Doctors and nurses say the space is something Utah County needs as the population continues to rapidly grow.
“We've tried to build this with enough space to flex a little larger as the population grows and as we need to do so,” said Medical Director Dr. Paul Robinson.
The new additions to the hospital are designed to keep up with emergency care trends across the country, which includes 21 new emergency room beds, and eight new operating rooms.
Each room in the $52 million facility is more efficient, allowing doctors and nurses to move quickly.
“I would say it's safe to say we have 10-12 laparoscopic surgeries in our operating room, and if you cut five minutes out of each turn over time to account for moving that equipment from room to room that equals 240 hours in a year, and that is prime surgery time that we can use more efficiently,” said Dr. Jennifer Tittensor.
Doctors say people want care in their hometown and with more space and better technology people won't need to go to Provo or Salt Lake City for surgical care.
The hospital staff will move all the equipment from the old operating room to the new one over the weekend and will start surgery on Monday.
