New Emergency Services Building Coming to Bayshore Hospital

By Christina Johnson

HOLMDEL – In the coming months, Bayshore Hospital will undergo a visible transformation by expanding the emergency department into a much larger and more efficient facility that could benefit residents at the most critical moments of their lives.

At a celebratory groundbreaking event Oct. 18 at the North Beers Street campus, chief hospital executive Frank Citara called the multiyear, state-of-the-art project to be built in the front parking lot a “tremendous” win for the community.

More than 125 people packed an outdoor tent on a windy day to applaud the expansion, an indication of the excitement in the community, Citara said.

“It’s the fact this is not the old Bayshore anymore. It’s Bayshore Medical Center. And this is proof that we’ve been evolving over the past few years, adding new services, growing,” he said.

Founded in 1972 alongside the Garden State Parkway, the hospital’s reputation has sometimes been overshadowed by Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank or Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune. But recent campaigns to bolster its heart, stroke and behavioral health programs have improved its standing. Now part of the Hackensack Meridian Health network, the hospital is seeing more hiring and investment and is attracting generous donations from the community.

In every speech lauding the new 32,000-square-foot emergency center, a humble Holmdel benefactor was graciously thanked for a game-changing donation through her family’s Golden Dome foundation.

Mary Ellen Harris said her husband Bob was a scientist who found success after developing an epileptic drug on his own. “He was very quiet and very giving,” said Mary Ellen of her husband, who died in 2017. “He always gave and gave and gave. He liked it.”

The expanded emergency services facility, which she called a “necessity” for the community, will now be called the Dr. Robert H. Harris Emergency Center.

For the medical staff, the gift of a new emergency center feels “like getting a brand new car,” said Rajiv Prasad, M.D. “We’ve taken care of over 36,000 patients last year. And unfortunately, many times patients would come to the old ER and they would have to wait in the waiting room. Or we would have to see patients in the hallway,” he said. The newly expanded facility will mean his staff can care for 55,000 patients a year in 35 private patient bays, allowing patients to be with loved ones and families, and give them a dedicated space for behavioral health patients, new imaging equipment and a pediatric zone. Reduced wait times, improved care and greater efficiencies will help save lives, he said.

Tatyana Kozhevniker, R.N., who currently oversees the 50 nurses in the emergency center, said patient care will be boosted and nurses will feel appreciated. “Nurses do want to work and deliver care in the ER that really speaks to the standards,” she said.

The facility will also have an expanded ambulance zone area, which will accommodate up to six ambulances at once, along with a new walk-in area and dedicated parking.

“We’re finally going to be able to go to a hospital where the facility matches the staff. And the staff is so phenomenal,” said Christopher Trischitta, chief of Holmdel First Aid Squad.

The Holmdel volunteers were especially thrilled about the timing of the groundbreaking. Later that night, the squad would celebrate its 50th anniversary gala. It boasts 64 active volunteers and a very active cadet program of 34. Assemblywoman Serena DiMaso (R-13) of Holmdel, chair of the hospital’s foundation board who spoke poignantly at the event about the care her own father received at Bayshore, is a volunteer driver on the squad.