With one of the busiest emergency departments in town, a recent expansion helps give even more patients top-level care

By Laura Briedis

If an emergency arises, it is good to know University Hospitals Ahuja Medical Center is close to home and ready to take care of you.

And thanks to a recent expansion, exceptional care is even more accessible.

As part of the medical center’s Phase 2 expansion, the newly built Emergency Department (ED) nearly doubled in size to 43 beds. It includes two trauma bays and five fast-track rooms. Offering both adult and pediatric emergency care, the ED was designed with the family in mind, and provides spacious rooms.

“We are the busiest community emergency department in the UH system, with exception to the main downtown campus,” says Dr. Kirk Stiffler, medical director of the ED at UH Ahuja Medical Center. “Since the Covid pandemic, healthcare capacity has been a big issue everywhere, and now with our expanded capacity we can take care of the community when they need us.”

“We also have all new, state-of-the-art equipment featuring the latest technology,” adds Dr. Imran Tahir, associate medical director of the ED, who has been working at University Hospitals for 23 years in internal medicine and now specializes in emergency medicine.

As the name implies, the new fast-track rooms provide emergency-level care to those low acute patients with minor illnesses and injuries so they can be evaluated, get the care they need and be discharged quickly.

“Patients who had minor falls, orthopedic issues such as bad ankle sprains, bad coughs and children with ear infections can be treated more expeditiously here than in traditional hospital beds,” says Dr. Stiffler.

The original ED is being renovated into a 23-bed Short-Stay Unit, where patients can stay for observation. “This will be ideal for patients with chest pain, mild congestive heart failure flare-ups, stroke symptoms, and infections that require IV antibiotics,” says Dr. Stiffler, noting UH Ahuja Medical Center is an accredited chest pain center and stroke center.

In the first month since opening the new ED on June 5, more than 3,000 patients have walked through the door, and of those, 25 percent were admitted.

“I always recommend patients go to the emergency department whenever in doubt to be extra cautious,” says Dr. Tahir. “If you need urgent care beyond just having a cough and fever—especially in the evenings and on weekends when doctors’ offices are closed, you should come to the emergency department to get checked out.”

“We are here for the community and ready to take care of patients in a new, clean, safe environment,” he notes.

When To Seek Emergency Care
Any symptom that is extreme, such as chest pain or trouble breathing, warrants a trip to the emergency room. However, not all medical issues are always clear-cut, and may leave you questioning when to seek emergency care, when to go to an urgent care center or when to call your doctor.

The board-certified emergency physicians at University Hospitals recommend you err on the side of caution by going to the nearest emergency department when you experience symptoms such as:

• Very high or very low vital signs, such as blood pressure, heart rate, breathing rate and temperature.
• Signs of heart attack or irregular heartbeat rhythm, such as chest pain or fainting.
• Stroke symptoms, including sudden onset of numbness or weakness of the face or body, confusion, dizziness or loss of coordination.
• Shortness of breath, wheezing or high-pitched breathing sounds.
• Complications from recent surgery.
• Seizures
• Vision loss
• Nosebleeds that don’t stop.
• Bleeding during pregnancy.
• Suicidal thoughts
• Overdose

The Emergency Department at UH Ahuja Medical Center is located at 3999 Richmond Road in Beachwood. If an emergency call 911. For more information or to find a doctor near you, visit UHhospitals.org/Ahuja.