Beaufort Memorial Celebrates 10th Anniversary of Pratt Emergency Center, Future Renovations

The state-of-the-art center includes 26 private rooms, two triage rooms, two trauma rooms, a nine-seat waiting area for patients awaiting discharge and another five individual waiting areas for patients requiring extra monitoring, infusions or additional space and privacy. The large addition to the hospital was made possible by generous community donations and nearly $1 million contributed by Beaufort Memorial employees. The catalyst for the project however, was a large gift from Dr. Bruce Pratt in honor of his parents, Sarah Meyer Pratt and George Nathaniel Pratt.

Other features include automated check-in kiosks, two enclosed decontamination areas for patients exposed to toxins, three outdoor decontamination showers for non-toxic exposures and two isolation rooms for patients with communicable diseases like tuberculosis, chicken pox or measles.

This year, Beaufort Memorial will be investing approximately $750,000 in renovations and improvements to the Emergency Department. The project includes a new two-room and two recliner-bay psychiatric evaluation and intake unit to allow for a quiet environment separated from the busy ER atmosphere. There will be additional safety measures to prevent elopement, handle patients who may be prone to violence and to reduce risk of self-harm.

Beaufort Memorial has been consecutively awarded the Drive to Zero Suicide Award from the South Carolina Hospital Association and the South Carolina Department of Mental Health for its evidence-based suicide prevention training of staff, formal policies to screen patients, enhanced safety planning and a follow-up process for patients with local community mental health resources.