News Stories

The news stories below detail exciting recent developments.

Casper – February 5, 2010 – 36,717 in one year. Almost 3,100 a month. Just over 100 per day.

The numbers speak volumes – literally – in the Wyoming Medical Center Emergency Room. ER visits have grown faster than we had anticipated. We weren’t expecting to reach these volumes until 2020. With that number at our doorstep, Wyoming Medical Center is faced with a jam-packed ER on any given day. As your community hospital, it is our obligation and our honor to provide care to anyone who walks through our door. We can’t just put up a “NO VACANCY” sign when we are full. Instead, we will be expanding and renovating to meet the community’s needs. To kick off the expansion, Wyoming Medical Center will be holding a Groundbreaking Ceremony on Monday, February 8, 2010 at 11:00 am in the Courtyard just off the ER Waiting Room.

The redesign will help streamline services and treatments within the Emergency Department, reducing wait time in many cases. As a Regional Trauma Center and Regional Referral Center, our doctors, nurses, paramedics and staff see a wide variety of injuries, illnesses, and other emergent conditions. To expedite treatment and to provide a higher level of service to our patients, the new layout will have two distinct areas. One side will be able to treat less serious health concerns (fast track) and the other will be reserved for more emergent cases.

The renovation will encompass most of the northern first floor of the hospital. The Emergency Department will grow from its current 17 beds into 40 beds once the expansion and renovation are complete. To minimize affects to our patients, the project will be completed in phases.

Nationwide trends show a continued demand on emergency services. You can rest assured that WMC recognizes the need and we are poised to address it. We want to welcome each patient through our ER with dignity, respect, timeliness, and the compassion Natrona County citizens deserve.

Quality patient care is our top priority and we are excited to be able to offer a spacious emergency department soon.

Casper – February 1, 2010 – It seems like a simple, logical concept, you think you may be having a heart attack, so you call 9-1-1. The reality is nearly half of all people having a heart attack do not call for an ambulance. They wait for the symptoms to pass, get a ride or drive themselves to the hospital.

To emphasize the importance of calling 9-1-1 at the first sign of a heart attack, Wyoming Medical Center is re-launching an awareness campaign in conjunction with American Heart Month. 911+90 are the numbers that can save your life when you are having a heart attack. Emergency service crews are able to initiate a high level of treatment on the way to the hospital and can keep physicians and staff informed of your condition, allowing the Heart Center of Wyoming team to mobilize and prepare for your arrival.

The “90” portion of the equation signifies the crucial window of time for the best chance of survival. Studies show that receiving advanced treatment, as performed in Wyoming Medical Center’s cardiac cath lab, can dramatically improve your outcome. Opening clogged arteries with a balloon angioplasty can cut a patient’s risk of dying by 40%, but only if it’s performed within 90 minutes of the arrival to the hospital (door-to-balloon time). Thanks to the collaboration of talented physicians and staff at Wyoming Medical Center, our heart attack treatment time is consistently in the top 10 percent in the country for door-to-balloon time. So remember 911+90 – it may just save your life.

If you can’t find the information you need here, please call the Community Development Office at 307-577-2388 or 800-822-7201, extension 2388 or e-mail info@wmcnet.org.