WHAT: Groundbreaking and special naming announcement for the expansion of the emergency department and Level 1trauma center at Memorial University Medical Center 

WHEN: 10.30 a.m., Wednesday, March 12 (rain day is Thursday, March 13)         

WHERE: The emergency department on the campus of Memorial University Medical Center

WHY: Join leading business, media and government officials as ground is broken on a major renovation and expansion of Memorial’s emergency department and Level 1 trauma center. Memorial’s emergency department was last expanded in 1992. That project increased the size of the department so that it could accommodate up to 45,000 patient visits per year. Today, Memorial’s emergency department sees about 100,000 patients each year.

The Level I trauma center, which is the only one of its kind in south Georgia, treats more than 2,800 critically injured patients annually. The two-year, $15-million expansion project will bring the total number of emergency room treatment areas to 74, which is almost double the current capacity.