Baptist Health La Grange marks five years of expanded emergency care
Five years after the expansion of the Baptist Health La Grange Emergency Department, Lindsey Chism can still remember how carefully the team had to work around the space it had.
“The spaces had been carved out and created over time,” said Lindsey, nurse coordinator for the Emergency Department. “They just did not fit the need anymore, so we had to get creative.”
Patient rooms were small, some were shared, and there was little space for family members. Caregivers worked wherever room could be found.
The department is serving patients in a very different environment today.
Approximately 50 people now come through the Emergency Department on an average day, adding up to about 17,000 visits each year. Eric Lang, director of emergency services, said annual volume has increased by an estimated 1,000 to 2,000 patients over the past three years.
The rise in patients mirrors what is happening outside the hospital.
“There’s a lot of movement in and around Oldham County,” Eric said. “It continues to expand and develop, both in housing and businesses.”
The hospital began preparing for that demand years ago.
In 2019, The Rawlings Foundation committed $2 million toward the $5.8 million expansion of the Emergency Department. The gift continued a history of generosity toward the hospital. Just two years earlier, George and Beverly Rawlings and The Rawlings Foundation donated $1 million toward the George and Beverly Rawlings Women’s Center, which opened in 2017.
Construction on the Emergency Department began in February 2020 and was completed in July 2021. The project added more than 4,000 square feet of new space, 12 private patient rooms, two new treatment bays and upgraded lobby and registration areas. The EMS entrance was also refreshed.
The improvements created more privacy and comfort for patients and families while giving caregivers space to respond more safely and efficiently. Supplies now have designated storage areas, specialized rooms support patients who need isolation, decontamination or behavioral health care, and a private bereavement room gives families a place to gather during difficult moments.
“Our trauma room used to be so small,” Lindsey said. “Now we can keep a ventilator and more emergency equipment in the room where it is easily accessible.”
A shared central work area has also brought nurses, physicians and advanced practice providers together in one place, strengthening communication when a response requires coordinated care.
The Emergency Department must be prepared for nearly anything. Some patients can be evaluated, treated, and sent home. Others arrive with serious conditions that call for rapid intervention before they can be transferred to a higher level of care.
Baptist Health La Grange primarily serves Oldham, Henry, Trimble, Carroll and Shelby counties, along with several ZIP codes in northeastern Jefferson County. For many people across that area, it is the closest place capable of beginning that care.
“There is a lot that we can do in the ER,” Lindsey said. “We can stabilize patients and give them the best possible chance to get to the next level of care.”
The department also offers a local connection. Many team members live in the same communities as the patients they serve.
“We take care of many of our own family members and neighbors,” Eric said. “Patients are more comfortable knowing they can come here instead of driving into Louisville to receive care.”
The expansion positioned Baptist Health La Grange to meet more of the region's needs as patient volumes increased. The next challenge is helping more patients continue their care locally after they leave the Emergency Department.
Additional staffing, updated technology, and expanded hospital services could reduce the number of patients who must be transferred elsewhere. That would allow more people to remain close to their families and continue receiving care in the community they chose from the start.
Continued donor investment is essential to keeping local emergency care ready for both today’s patients and the growth still ahead.
“We are the front line of the facility,” Eric said. “By continuing to innovate and meet the demand of the community, we can take care of them the way they expect us to.”
“The spaces had been carved out and created over time,” said Lindsey, nurse coordinator for the Emergency Department. “They just did not fit the need anymore, so we had to get creative.”
Patient rooms were small, some were shared, and there was little space for family members. Caregivers worked wherever room could be found.
The department is serving patients in a very different environment today.
Approximately 50 people now come through the Emergency Department on an average day, adding up to about 17,000 visits each year. Eric Lang, director of emergency services, said annual volume has increased by an estimated 1,000 to 2,000 patients over the past three years.
The rise in patients mirrors what is happening outside the hospital.
“There’s a lot of movement in and around Oldham County,” Eric said. “It continues to expand and develop, both in housing and businesses.”
The hospital began preparing for that demand years ago.
In 2019, The Rawlings Foundation committed $2 million toward the $5.8 million expansion of the Emergency Department. The gift continued a history of generosity toward the hospital. Just two years earlier, George and Beverly Rawlings and The Rawlings Foundation donated $1 million toward the George and Beverly Rawlings Women’s Center, which opened in 2017.
Construction on the Emergency Department began in February 2020 and was completed in July 2021. The project added more than 4,000 square feet of new space, 12 private patient rooms, two new treatment bays and upgraded lobby and registration areas. The EMS entrance was also refreshed.
The improvements created more privacy and comfort for patients and families while giving caregivers space to respond more safely and efficiently. Supplies now have designated storage areas, specialized rooms support patients who need isolation, decontamination or behavioral health care, and a private bereavement room gives families a place to gather during difficult moments.
“Our trauma room used to be so small,” Lindsey said. “Now we can keep a ventilator and more emergency equipment in the room where it is easily accessible.”
A shared central work area has also brought nurses, physicians and advanced practice providers together in one place, strengthening communication when a response requires coordinated care.
The Emergency Department must be prepared for nearly anything. Some patients can be evaluated, treated, and sent home. Others arrive with serious conditions that call for rapid intervention before they can be transferred to a higher level of care.
Baptist Health La Grange primarily serves Oldham, Henry, Trimble, Carroll and Shelby counties, along with several ZIP codes in northeastern Jefferson County. For many people across that area, it is the closest place capable of beginning that care.
“There is a lot that we can do in the ER,” Lindsey said. “We can stabilize patients and give them the best possible chance to get to the next level of care.”
The department also offers a local connection. Many team members live in the same communities as the patients they serve.
“We take care of many of our own family members and neighbors,” Eric said. “Patients are more comfortable knowing they can come here instead of driving into Louisville to receive care.”
The expansion positioned Baptist Health La Grange to meet more of the region's needs as patient volumes increased. The next challenge is helping more patients continue their care locally after they leave the Emergency Department.
Additional staffing, updated technology, and expanded hospital services could reduce the number of patients who must be transferred elsewhere. That would allow more people to remain close to their families and continue receiving care in the community they chose from the start.
Continued donor investment is essential to keeping local emergency care ready for both today’s patients and the growth still ahead.
“We are the front line of the facility,” Eric said. “By continuing to innovate and meet the demand of the community, we can take care of them the way they expect us to.”
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