Maimonides Medical Center cut the ribbon on its new full-service emergency department in Bay Ridge on Tuesday, bringing 24/7 emergency care to the residents of Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst, and the surrounding nabes.
The Maimonides Bay Ridge Emergency Department — built at the site of the former Victory Memorial Hospital on 7th Avenue — is the first 24-hour emergency room in southern Brooklyn, meaning locals will no longer need to travel to far-flung hospitals when they’re in need of urgent treatment. Ambulances will also be able to bring patients directly to the facility when needed.
“Our new emergency department is staffed by Maimonides board-certified emergency medicine physicians and offers comprehensive expertise for trauma and wound care, chest pain, and a spectrum of urgent and emergency health concerns,” said Maimonides emergency physician Ahmed Rashed, in a statement. “We also offer cardiac testing and cardiology services, and obstetric/gynecologic, orthopedic, and pediatric emergency care.”
The 15,000-square-foot emergency department is kitted out with 22 treatment bays and is equipped to handle lab testing, X-rays, CT scans, and ultrasounds. An on-site ambulance will stand at the ready to transfer patients in need of hospitalization or specialty care to other facilities, and pre-arrival check-in means patients can pre-schedule their own appointments.
Southern Brooklyn has lacked adequate emergency medical care for years, said Maimonides President and CEO Ken Gibbs in a statement.
“Maimonides’ new Bay Ridge Emergency Department will have an immediate positive impact for thousands of Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights residents,” Gibbs said. “By offering easy and fast access to trauma and advanced emergency care, this new service will save lives when time is of the essence.”
The hospital has been working to open a new emergency facility in the nabe for years, Gibbs added, and succeeded with the “instrumental” support and backing of local politicians including Council Member Justin Brannan, state Senator Andrew Gounardes, and U.S. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis.
“We want to extend our thanks to these legislators as well as the State of New York and the Department of Health for the significant State funding that is supporting this project, which represents an investment in Maimonides’ future and in the health of these communities,” Gibbs added.
Maimonides — Brooklyn’s largest healthcare provider — has also recently significantly increased its emergency medicine facilities elsewhere in the borough. At Maimonides Midwood Community Hospital, the emergency department has been expanded to include pediatric, orthopedic, obstetric/gynecologic, and behavioral health services.
“Maimonides Medical Center already operates the busiest trauma unit in the borough, and we have the largest fleet of hospital-based 911 ambulances,” said John Marshall, chair of emergency medicine at Maimonides Health and a newly elected member of the American Board of Emergency Medicine Board of Directors. “We’re proud to bring emergency care and the best emergency medicine specialists to even more people in our surrounding communities.”
