CLEARLAKE, Calif. – On Nov. 10, area residents are invited to attend a ceremonial “wall breaking” that kicks-off the planned $12.1 million renovation and expansion of St. Helena Hospital Clearlake’s emergency department.

Festivities begin with a reception from 8 a.m. to 8:30 a.m., followed by a variation of the traditional groundbreaking from 8:30 a.m. to 9 a.m., in which hospital executives and physicians wielding golden sledge hammers break through a symbolic emergency department wall, signaling commencement of the long-awaited renovation project.

Participants in the ceremony will include Jennifer Swenson, Vice President of Operations, members of the hospital’s governing board and medical staff, and St. Helena Hospital President and CEO Terry Newmyer.

"This will be a very exciting event for us, and we want to share it with everyone,” said Newmyer. “A modernized and expanded emergency department is a critical milestone in our commitment to delivering excellence here in our community.”

The renovation will create twelve state-of-the-art patient monitoring rooms, two of which will be for trauma patients.

The project will also improve the configuration of the emergency department, providing a private ambulance entrance, a welcoming entrance for walk-in patients and visitors, and a pleasant, comfortable environment in the larger remodeled waiting area.

The triage area will be redesigned so that patients can go directly from the emergency department lobby to a private bed, if necessary.

For more information, visit www.adventisthealth.org .