A rendering of the Nashua Emergency Room at 338 Amherst St. The $16 million facility is expected to be operational by the middle of next year. Courtesy photo

NASHUA – Catholic Medical Center will break ground for the Nashua Emergency Room, a 10,000 square-foot freestanding facility, on Oct. 28.

A $16 million investment, the building will be located on the former site of Leda Lanes at 338 Amherst St. and is expected to be operational by the middle of next year.

“Emergencies don’t wait and neither should patients,” said John Skevington, CEO of Catholic Medical Center. “By expanding access to emergency care in Nashua, we’re ensuring that patients receive fast, expert care for everything from chest pain and stroke to broken bones and abdominal pain. This facility is designed to complement our existing hospitals, physician clinics and urgent care centers by providing another choice when every minute counts.”

The Nashua Emergency Room will feature computerized tomography, ultrasound and radiology, an on-site laboratory, covered ambulance entrance as well as a pediatric waiting and treatment area. The facility will also be staffed around the clock by 30 clinical professionals.

HCA Healthcare, which owns Catholic Medical Center, currently operates freestanding emergency rooms in Seabrook, Dover and Plaistow.

According to HCA, its freestanding emergency rooms surpass the capabilities of urgent care centers, which are generally open 12 hours per day and treat lower level ailments. In contrast, HCA’s freestanding emergency rooms are open 24 hours and have 11 emergency bays, which also includes a bay for trauma patients.

Laura Montenegro, spokeswoman for Catholic Medical Center, said the Nashua Emergency Room will pride itself on “rapid stabilization and timely care.”

She said that according to data from NH HealthCost, the emergency room wait times at St. Joseph Hospital and Southern New Hampshire Medical Center are 100 minutes longer than the wait times at HCA facilities.

“The freestanding emergency room model has proven to improve patient satisfaction, reduce wait times and complement local hospitals,” said Montenegro.

Medical personnel at the Nashua Emergency Room will be equipped to handle severe injuries as well as patients who have suffered a stroke or who have gone into cardiac arrest.

Patients who need to be hospitalized will have the option of being admitted at Catholic Medical Center in Manchester or at Parkland Medical Center in Derry.