BEND, Ore. -- A new rapid medical evaluation unit with 12 patient treatment spaces opened Monday at St. Charles Bend to add much-needed capacity to the hospital's busy Emergency Department.

"The new modular treatment spaces are designed for patients with a lower severity of health care needs," St. Charles Health System said in its announcement. "In addition to the dozen treatment spaces, it says the unit includes two bathrooms, a supply area and a nurses’ station.

“As our Central Oregon community continues to grow at a rapid pace, our Emergency Department is often full, which can sometimes mean long waits for care or treatment in creative spaces like hallways, which is not ideal,” said Stacy Youngs, Vice President of Operations for the Bend hospital campus. “The opening of this unit is an important first step while we continue to work on more permanent long-term solutions to address space constraints.”

The health system’s long-term goal is to nearly double the Bend Emergency Department capacity over the next two decades. Building new hospital space is an expensive and time-consuming process that can take many years to complete. The modular unit is just one way St. Charles is implementing outside-of-the-box solutions to provide more care to the community.

The new modular unit was funded in part through donations to St. Charles Foundation, which continues to raise funds for future expansion of the Emergency Department and other emergency services.

“We are grateful for the many members of our community who helped support the addition of this new unit and who are continuing to support future expansion for our emergency services across the system,” Youngs said. “Because of your generosity, we’ve been able to care for our community through some of life’s most difficult moments. We appreciate the ongoing support.”

About St. Charles Health System

St. Charles Health System, Inc., headquartered in Bend, Ore., owns and operates St. Charles Bend, Madras, Prineville and Redmond. It also owns family care clinics in Bend, La Pine, Madras, Prineville, Redmond and Sisters. St. Charles is a private, nonprofit Oregon corporation and is the largest employer in Central Oregon, with more than 5,000 caregivers. In addition, there are more than 350 active medical staff members and nearly 200 visiting medical staff members who partner with the health system to provide a wide range of care and service to our communities.