EMERGENCY CHANGES AT ST. FRANCIS

A new temporary entrance to St. Francis Medical Center's emergency department will be in use throughout the construction of a new medical office building.

The new entrance, located directly in front of the hospital, opened Wednesday, said Jay Wolz, a marketing and public relations representative for the hospital.

"It's fairly distinctive," Wolz said. "There are signs over it on either side" to point to the way.

Visitors will now enter into a short hallway which will then lead them to the emergency room, he said.

"It's hopefully more convenient" than the old entrance, Wolz said.

A new surface parking lot has been constructed and is open for the emergency department.

A new drive is also in use. It connects directly to the circle drive in front of the hospital to allow for dropping off patients or visitors directly in front of the emergency department.

"Basically, we moved the entrance from the side of the hospital to the front of the hospital," he said.

Extra staff have been put on duty to direct visitors to the emergency department and outpatient registration areas, Wolz said, and new signs are going up around the hospital campus to point visitors in the right direction.

The construction is not affecting emergency department entrances for ambulances, he said.

Crews will begin tearing out the old emergency department parking lot to clear the site for construction of the medical office building.

Construction should take 14 months to two years, Wolz said.