Wichita hospital to open part of $22 million expanded emergency department

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Ascension Via Christi St. Joseph will begin serving patients Wednesday in its newly expanded emergency department.

The hospital has finished Phase 2 of a $22 million improvement project.

The project aims to expand the hospital's capacity for specialized care and is fully funded by American Rescue Plan Act funds facilitated by Gov. Laura Kelly.

"We've needed to update our spaces," Claudio Ferraro, president of Via Christi St. Joseph, said. "We had lots of periods where we had patients boarding in the actual hallways, and now we have adequate space to care for them, both behavioral health and medical."

New additions to the hospital under Phase 2 of the project include 21,000 square feet of clinical space, 20 new hospital beds and an 11-bed psychiatric observation a