{"id":274097,"date":"2026-02-08T17:54:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-08T17:54:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/274097\/"},"modified":"2026-02-08T17:54:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T17:54:08","slug":"palisades-medical-center-completes-first-phase-of-50m-er-expansion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/274097\/","title":{"rendered":"Palisades Medical Center completes first phase of $50M ER expansion"},"content":{"rendered":"

A $50 million effort to transform a busy Hudson County<\/a> emergency room has completed its first phase.<\/p>\n

Palisades Medical Center and its owner Hackensack Meridian Health announced Thursday that part of the hospital\u2019s new ER was now open to the public. <\/p>\n

Hospital officials said the redesigned space incorporates feedback they\u2019ve gotten from community members.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith this first phase, we\u2019re not just opening new doors; we\u2019re opening a better way to care for our neighbors,\u201d said Lisa A. Iachetti, president and chief hospital executive of Palisades Medical Center, in a statement. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve listened to our community and designed a space that is not only efficient for our incredible medical team but also provides a sense of calm and privacy for our patients when they need it most,\u201d Iachetti said.<\/p>\n

The new ER is specifically engineered to treat patients more efficiently and reduce wait times, officials said. <\/p>\n

According to federal data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services<\/a>, the average ER wait time in the U.S. was two hours and 41 minutes in 2024. The wait was even longer in New Jersey, with patients waiting an average of three hours and three minutes. <\/p>\n

The revamped ER features two triage rooms for initial medical assessments, eight private treatment rooms and 15 semi-enclosed treatment spaces. The new design gives patients and their families more personal space, according to a hospital press release.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also designed to feel more welcoming and comfortable than the traditional ER. In the new space, oxygen, monitors and other medical equipment are hidden from view to create a less clinical environment and reduce patient anxiety. <\/p>\n

\"TriagePictured is one of the new triage rooms, where doctors can expedite initial medical assessments.Photographer Steven Paneccasio\"PrivateA view of the new private treatment rooms at Palisades Medical Center ER.Photographer Steven Paneccasio<\/p>\n

The full project, which will also include dedicated spaces for both pediatric and behavioral health patients, is slated for completion later this year. In total, it will double the department\u2019s size to 22,000 square feet.<\/p>\n

Palisades Medical Center is one of 18 hospitals in the Hackensack Meridian Health Network, the largest hospital network in the state. The company continues to invest in expansion. <\/p>\n

In April 2025, it broke ground on a $200 million health and wellness center located at the Metropark Station in Woodbridge. The next month, it opened a $14 million four-story building at JFK University Medical Center for comprehensive cancer services. <\/p>\n

\"PalisadesHospital officials said the new ER at Palisades Medical Center is engineered to improve patient flow, reduce wait times and improve the patient experience.Photographer Steven Paneccasio<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A $50 million effort to transform a busy Hudson County emergency room has completed its first phase. Palisades…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":274098,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[134,527,111,139,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-274097","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-healthcare","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-healthcare","10":"tag-new-zealand","11":"tag-newzealand","12":"tag-nz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274097","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=274097"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274097\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/274098"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=274097"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=274097"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=274097"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}