"In terms of use, it has made the hospital more accessible to patients," he said. "Instead of holding beds in the emergency room, we can keep them here."
If there is a shortage of beds on the hospital's sixth floor acute-care unit, and a doctor needs more room, the new unit can take on added patients, Prasertsit added.
Leonard LaBella, the hospital's chief executive officer, said increasing the number of available beds was a direct response to the needs of staff and patients.
"These additional 24 beds minimize the need to hold patients in the emergency department or delay admissions due to bed availability," La Bella said.
The hospital experienced a 20% increase in emergency department visits and a 24% increase in acute patient delays between 2001 and last year, said hospital spokeswoman Lisa Knapp, who hopes the new unit will help hospital staff cope with an increasing demand for its services from the local community.
"The area is growing and more people are coming from the [Foothill] (210) corridor," Knapp said. "Combined with hospital closures, the ER is getting more crowded. People choose to come to Verdugo Hills because they know they can get in and out of here quickly."
Prasertsit and nurse Jocelyn Aguilar said feedback from patients has been positive and most have been impressed by the size of each of the private rooms.
"They love it," said Aguilar. "The unit has very big rooms compared to the ones of the sixth floor, which are much smaller. At the moment, we are able to keep one patient in each room although we do have three rooms with three beds inside."
