CARIBOU – Cary Medical Center officials hope to get patients where they need to go more quickly because of newly completed renovations unveiled Sunday at an open house at the hospital.

Officials spent the afternoon giving guided tours of the department of emergency medicine, the front lobby and gift shop, which were renovated and remodeled this year.

Kris Doody-Chabre, chief executive officer at Cary Medical Center, said the areas had not been renovated since the hospital was built 28 years ago.

“Changing the flow to make patients feel that they’re constantly moving through the system [to get the care that they need] was important to us,” Doody-Chabre said.

The renovations and remodeling cost $750,000 and involved about 7,000 square feet. The project began in January and wrapped up in May on time and within budget, the CEO said.

The redesign was aimed at eliminating bottlenecks, Doody-Chabre said. For instance, the emergency department entrance will no longer accommodate registration of patients for lab work, X-rays and other ancillary services. Instead, patients will register for such services in the newly designed front lobby, which highlights patient registration, volunteer escorts and other services.

According to Karen Woodall, nurse manager for the newly named department of emergency medicine, the design allows her area to be more patient focused.

“The first person they [patients] will see is a registered nurse,” Woodall said Sunday. “It will help us to more quickly expedite the patients through, to get them into the system quicker.”

Woodall said hospital officials expect a 7 percent increase in volume because of the changes.

Emergency medicine department renovations also include improved work space for staff members and a family waiting room that is closed off from the general waiting area but adjacent to the patient care area, Doody-Chabre said.

The redesign also involved the relocation of the hospital’s gift shop, which had $35,000 in sales in 2004. Proceeds from the shop are given to the hospital to improve health care services, including the purchase of new equipment, support for capital campaigns and other hospital needs. Officials moved the shop into the front lobby area and allowed for a larger space to display merchandise.

While some of the changes give the hospital a fresher look, Doody-Chabre was hopeful that open house visitors walked away with a sense of what the hospital sees as most important.

“We hope people recognize that we’re putting patients first in emergency situations,” she said.