Baton Rouge General to Re-Open Emergency Room at Mid City

Thirty-three bed ER to provide care for all types of emergency patients

BATON ROUGE, La. – Today, Baton Rouge General (BRG) announced that it will re-open its Mid City Emergency Room June 15, providing another option for emergency care in the Mid City area.

While BRG’s contract with GOHSEP opened up many of the hospital’s acute care units as part of the state’s surge plan, the agreement also calls for opening 33 emergency room beds. For patients, this means that starting next week they will be able to visit BRG Mid City for health emergencies of all kinds.

“While the last few months have been challenging for everyone, they have brought us an opportunity to help our community heal and recover,” said Edgardo Tenreiro, BRG’s President and CEO. “We will continue to offer acute care and keep the ER open as long as we have the support of the State.”

The 23,000-square-foot emergency room will be able to assess and triage all types of emergencies, from chest pain and broken bones to abdominal pain and urinary tract infections.

Patients will be admitted if they need additional care, though severe trauma patients and some other emergencies may be transferred to other facilities after they’re stabilized if they need surgery or specialty care not available on the Mid City campus.

Currently, patients at BRG Mid City are admitted to the hospital only by being transferred from other facilities -- for example, a skilled nursing inpatient may have been transferred from a nursing home, or a behavioral health inpatient from a local ER. The ER will allow patients to get care at Mid City without going through another facility first.

Over the past five years, the Mid City hospital has transformed into a hub for post-acute services, employing more than 900 people working in cancer care, rehabilitation, behavioral health, outpatient surgery, family medicine and more. “We worked hard to keep healthcare services in Mid City, exploring many different partnerships, tenants and models of care,” said Tenreiro. “But emergency care is part of our mission and is a service we are happy to be able to offer again.”

Like BRG’s ER at Bluebonnet, the Mid City ER will offer pathways for patients with COVID-like symptoms and those with other emergency issues. When patients enter the facility, they will be screened for symptoms and directed to one of two waiting rooms. When non-COVID patients are called back, they will enter the ER through a separate door and will be treated by a team who only cares for other non-COVID patients to minimize risk. Patients with respiratory symptoms will be screened for COVID and treated by a specially trained team wearing appropriate PPE.

Baton Rouge General offers emergency care at its Bluebonnet campus and will be opening another emergency room at its Ascension Neighborhood Hospital this fall.

For more information, visit BRGeneral.org/MidCityER.

About Baton Rouge General Medical Center
Baton Rouge General Medical Center is the area’s first community hospital with 588 licensed beds between two campuses. Baton Rouge General opened its doors in 1900, and has provided the Greater Baton Rouge community with high-quality healthcare for generations. An accredited teaching hospital since 1991, Baton Rouge General serves as an affiliate of Tulane University School of Medicine, and offers other medical education programs, including a School of Nursing, School of Radiologic Technology, Family Medicine Residency Program, Internal Medicine Residency Program, and Sports Medicine Fellowship Program. For more information, visit BRGeneral.org, find us on Facebook at Facebook.com/BatonRougeGeneral and follow us on Twitter at @BRGeneral.

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