CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- The emergency department at Provident Hospital is due to reopen Monday, a couple of weeks earlier than planned.
The emergency department at Provident Hospital was closed the first week of April, after a staff member had tested positive for COVID-19 and Cook County Health detemined the set-up in the ER did not allow for proper physical distancing. Cook County Health decided to shut it down to reconfigure the ER and planned to reopen on or before May 6.
Nurses had protested saying the Provident emergency department was needed on the South Side.
Now, two weeks after closing, Provident Hospital's ER is back open and started taking patients at 7 a.m. Monday.
Cook County Health officials said the emergency room has been reconfigured with new seating, including a designated area for patients suspected of having COVID-19, CBS 2 reported. Provident Hospital has also created mobile registration units to reduce crowding, and reconfigured nurses’ workstations to meet social distancing guidelines. Officials also have designated new triage, exam, and isolation areas for COVID-19 patients, created separate workrooms for doctors and staff, and installed a new communication system to allow safe interactions between patients and staff.