Hotel-like touches on display as Palms West expands emergency room dedicated to children

Valentina Palm, Palm Beach Post
Updated ·4 min read

ROYAL PALM BEACH — The new pediatrics emergency room at HCA Florida Palms West Hospital looks more like a hotel than a hospital.

The $8.5 million children's emergency center features wide hallways, brightly-colored rooms and beach-themed decor.

Julie Trieste, Palms West's spokesperson, said the expansion will substantially increase the number of children that can be seen at the hospital's ER, which serves families from Wellington and Royal Palm Beach and even as far west as The Glades.

“We are the only pediatrics hospital out in this area,” Trieste said. “The way that the area's grown with young families, we've got to keep up with everyone."

The staff of the HCA Florida Palms West Hospital cuts the ribbon on its newly expanded $6.8 million pediatrics emergency room on Wednesday, Sept 20, 2023.
The staff of the HCA Florida Palms West Hospital cuts the ribbon on its newly expanded $6.8 million pediatrics emergency room on Wednesday, Sept 20, 2023.

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HCA Palms West held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Sept. 20 to unveil the first phase of its $17 million renovation to its emergency department. Hospital leadership, doctors and nurses gathered at the construction site to celebrate the opening of the new facility.

Here are four key details about the hospital’s expansion:

Nurses take their first look at new rooms at the HCA Palms West pediatrics emergency room. The facility unveiled the $8.5 million expansion on Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023.
Nurses take their first look at new rooms at the HCA Palms West pediatrics emergency room. The facility unveiled the $8.5 million expansion on Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023.

Palms West's ER now has 18 beds for pediatric patients

HCA Palms West pediatrics emergency department grew by 4,400 square-feet and added 11 more beds, for a new total of 18.

The expansion also included the renovation of all patient rooms and extends to the waiting areas.

Inside, hallways are wide, walls are freshly painted in the hues of light blue, orange and purple and feature beach-style decoration with waves, seahorses and shells.

The newly expanded children's emergency room at HCA Palms West features bright-colored painted walls, wide rooms and beach-themed decor. The facility unveiled the $8.5 million expansion on Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023.
The newly expanded children's emergency room at HCA Palms West features bright-colored painted walls, wide rooms and beach-themed decor. The facility unveiled the $8.5 million expansion on Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023.

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The rooms for younger children include bouncy balls and drawings of fish swimming engraved in the ceiling. The areas dedicated for teens are adorned with surf-themed decorations.

“It's just to make them feel a little more at ease,” said Trieste.

The ceilings inside the children's room at the HCA Palms West pediatrics emergency center are engraved with drawings of fish swimming.
The ceilings inside the children's room at the HCA Palms West pediatrics emergency center are engraved with drawings of fish swimming.

The ER will treat patients faster and allow for comprehensive care

Dr. Richard Giroux, the hospital's emergency director, said the design of the new ER will allow for children to be seen quicker. It features:

  • New check-in kiosks.

  • Additional triage rooms, where doctors first determine the urgency and level of care needed.

  • Five "fast-track” bays to care for patients more efficiently.

  • A resuscitation room, for the worse-case scenarios, with sliding doors that open from all sides.

"We see you, we triage you and you don't even come back out," Giroux said. "It's really allowing for the children to feel a little bit safer and more secure."

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Nurses talk at the new front desk inside HCA Palms West children's emergency room. The facility unveiled the $8.5 million expansion on Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023.
Nurses talk at the new front desk inside HCA Palms West children's emergency room. The facility unveiled the $8.5 million expansion on Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023.

The expansion helps Palms West to give comprehensive care

Palms West has the only emergency room dedicated to children in western Palm Beach County.

The hospital offers complete pediatric services and operates the Your New Life Center for expectant mothers. This year, it also unveiled its new NIC 3 unit, which allows its staff to treat babies born prematurely or with health conditions.

Giroux said the expansion of the pediatrics ER will allow the hospital to offer all levels of care for children of all ages.

"We're able to take you in that full comprehensive care versus other facilities," said Giroux, who said he has been waiting for the expansion since 2017. "For me, it's almost like a closing of a chapter to start the new chapter."

The newly expanded children's emergency room at HCA Palms West feature bright-colored painted walls, wider rooms and beach-themed decor. The facility unveiled the $8.5 million expansion on Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023.
The newly expanded children's emergency room at HCA Palms West feature bright-colored painted walls, wider rooms and beach-themed decor. The facility unveiled the $8.5 million expansion on Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023.

The Palms West staff expects to serve more mothers and children

This year, Palms West has seen 14,000 pediatric visits, of which 1,000 have been children emergencies. But Trieste said the expansion wasn't only needed to accommodate the amount of patients it’s already seeing.

Lakeside Medical Center in Belle Glade, Palm Beach County's only public hospital, closed its maternity unit last year, citing a drop in births, and its patients are being transferred to Palms West.

Trieste says she expects the number of mothers and children who come to the hospital will continue increasing over the next few years.

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"It's a big undertaking," Trieste said. "We had to grow to meet their needs."

Trieste said the pediatrics ER expansion is another step for Palms West to become the staple hospital for families in Palm Beach County.

"We've got all the specialists here," said Trieste. "Our nurses and doctors are trained to deal with little people and the issues that they have to get that specialized care."

Valentina Palm covers Royal Palm Beach, Wellington, Loxahatchee and other western communities in Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post. Email her at vpalm@pbpost.com and follow her on Twitter at @ValenPalmB. Support local journalism: Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: HCA Palms West Hospital unveils expanded pediatric emergency room