A planned $20 million expansion of the Mount Graham Regional Medical Center is delayed because of high construction costs, but the hospital is spending about $1 million to improve patient services.

“We’re one of several (Arizona) hospitals that have tabled any expansion,” hospital spokesman Ryan Rapier said.

The centerpiece of the improvement project is the addition of six treatment bays to the hospital’s emergency department. These are expected to be completed in March and will increase the number of bays to 17. Rapier said this addition should result in shorter wait times for patients.

Brent Quinn, director of construction management at the Mount Graham Regional Medical Center, looks over plans for new emergency room bays at the hospital. Photo by Diane Saunders

Three of the new bays will be designated for a new “fast track” system of treating patients with “non-emergent” illnesses or injuries. These patients often come to the emergency room because they have no family doctor or they sought treatment after their physician’s office hours.

The fast-track system will allow these patients to be treated quickly and efficiently instead of enduring long waits when high-priority patients are brought to the hospital.

Rapier said the hospital has sufficient staff to cover the emergency department around the clock every day — even with the addition of six bays.

Brent Quinn, director of construction management at the hospital, said the three bays designated for the fast-track system will be equipped to handle more serious emergencies if the need arises. For example, bus accident victims would not have long waits because the non-emergent bays could be pressed into service.

Quinn said many measures are being taken to make sure dust and odors from the construction project do not enter other parts of the hospital. Precautions include a heavy plastic barrier between the construction area and other parts of the hospital.

Within the construction area, a filtration system cleans the air of dust and expels the dust particles outdoors.

“They (patients) don’t even know anything’s happening,” Quinn said.

Better services

Patients who require outpatient mammograms, bone scans and ultrasounds, however, know that something is happening because they no longer have long waits in the hospital’s radiology department.

The shorter waits are because the hospital has opened an imaging facility in a nearby building for outpatient services.

“They’re not in the same patient pool anymore,” Rapier said.

Shila Lunt, lead mammography technologist, said the facility is equipped with an updated mammography machine that is designed to add flexibility and speed to the process and cause the patient less discomfort.

“I get more breast tissue in the images, and they’re even better quality (than previously produced),” Lunt said.

Jonathan Sanders, the hospital’s director of imaging, said he expects the number of mammograms to increase because women no longer have to obtain a doctor’s order to schedule a screening mammogram.

An order from a doctor is still required, however, if the patient is referred for a mammogram because of a breast lump.

Because of the new imaging facility, pa-tients scheduled for a routine mammography are spared the long waits that sometimes prevent women from having this important diagnostic study.

“We’re trying to ease the burden of coming in to get one,” Sanders said.

To schedule a routine mammogram, call 348-4251.