.

The new emergency department (ED) at Leesburg Regional Medical Center is now officially open for patient care. The ED features expanded triage capability with fully equipped triage rooms, 24 new patient beds, state-of-the-art Philips monitoring equipment, trauma-sized rooms for critical care, enhanced security, and a spacious waiting room and atrium-like lobby.

More than 47,000 people visit the emergency department at Leesburg Regional Medical Center each year, and that number is escalating as the community continues to grow. With the expansion open, the hospital can now accommodate double the number of emergency patients.

"Area residents count on Leesburg Regional Medical Center for excellent, high-quality emergency services," says Don Henderson, president and CEO of Central Florida Health, the not-for-profit parent organization of LRMC. "Increasing our emergency department capacity not only serves the needs of our community, but also builds on our promise to provide quality healthcare in a modern environment that promotes healing and restoration."

If you have a condition that is life-threatening or could cause disability, go to the emergency department as soon as possible. If the problem is not that serious, the LRMC Urgent Care Center may be a better choice. Urgent Care treats minor illnesses like colds, the flu, earaches, sore throats, and low-grade fevers. It can also treat non-life-threatening injuries such as sprains, minor broken bones, or minor eye injuries. The LRMC Urgent Care Center is open every day from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. If you experience chest pain, call 911 immediately. Chest pain is the most common symptom of a heart attack, and a heart attack is always an emergency.

Patients may now utilize the new emergency department entrance on Lake Street. Additionally, an expanded ED patient parking lot is under construction across the street from the main entrance that is expected to open by November 1, 2018.