Adventist Health Selma expands emergency department to cut down on patient wait time

SELMA, Calif. (KFSN) -- Adventist Health in Selma has a brand new look. Renovations at the emergency department are now complete.

According to the chief medical officer, the healthcare facility can continue providing high-quality, compassionate care to patients.

"We live and breathe it every day," said Dr. Gurvinder Kaur. "This is another step towards that."

The Emergency Room is just one part of a multi-million dollar multi-phase project.

The improvements include a rapid medical evaluation room and triage area, plus more beds, for a total of 16.

Dr. Gurvinder Kaur said patients could expect to be seen and treated faster.

"We certainly want to be more efficient in helping patients get to the next step in their care faster, have less waiting time in the waiting room," she said. "So it's certainly a very exciting phase for the community."

The improvements were needed because the hospital doesn't only see patients from Selma, as they're from all over the Central Valley.

"The population we serve is much, much larger," said Dr. Kaur. "Having an only six-bed emergency room was a big sort of capacity constraint in helping move patients quickly enough."

The goal is to get people from the door to a doctor in less than 15 minutes. However, there could be an extra wait time if they need more care -- such as labs or tests.

"But once they hit the first initial step, at least they know they're in the queue," Dr. Kaur said.

Right now, officials said the expansion is helping with an influx of patients who may have avoided the ER during COVID surges, as many are now sicker and need more hospital care.