Long Island Jewish Valley Stream aims for faster, more efficient ER

Had Jean Philidor waited another day, or even a few hours, to go to the emergency room at Long Island Jewish Valley Stream hospital, doctors said he could have lost his right hand.

Philidor, 36, of Valley Stream, was visiting relatives last month when his right palm got pinched in a metal door. He thought nothing of it, noticed a blood blister and waited for it to heal.

Three days later, Philidor, a carpenter, couldn’t lift his hammer while on a job building a new highway bridge at Kennedy Airport. He also had a fever, and chills.

Philidor sought treatment at the 60-year-old hospital and his timing was right. Doctors at LIJ used a new screening process as part of a renovated emergency room that officially opened Monday, and is designed to treat patients more efficiently based on need, which in Philidor's case, was dire, and also reduce wait times.

The eight-year, $40 million renovation includes more space for patients and beds, as well as new medical equipment used to evaluate severity of injuries or other urgent medical conditions.

"This hospital was 15 minutes away. This is home," Philidor told Newsday. "I don’t know what would have happened if I waited two or three more hours."

After assessing his symptoms, doctors at LIJ treated him immediately. Any delay would have likely resulted in amputation.

"If we waited to go to the operating room, it would have been a waste of time and could mean loss of tissue and function," said Dr. Homayoun Sasson, who treated Philidor in the emergency room. "The infection in his hand was so advanced and every minute counted."

The renovation expanded the emergency department by about 7,000 square feet and includes 40 beds and a new triage intake room. It also added a CAT scanner, X-ray equipment, a new front lobby and a new covered ambulance bay. Parts of the emergency room project are in their final phases of renovation.

It is expected to serve 55,000 patients annually, hospital officials said. The hospital is not a designated trauma center, but can treat some trauma emergencies, officials said.

Northwell CEO Michael Dowling said transforming the emergency room has been a priority since Northwell took over Franklin General Hospital in the 1990s when he said the ER was too small and not a priority.

"The emergency room is a key part of any hospital. It's the front door for the facility," Dowling said. "When people come, this is the first thing that they see, and this is where you triage people, so they go upstairs or be able to get treated and go home. So, we need good hospitals with a very, very good emergency department."

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.