Renovations Complete at Portland’s Busiest Emergency Department

PORTLAND, Ore. — A $47 million renovation of the emergency department at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center has transformed Portland’s busiest emergency department into a state-of-the-art space designed to accommodate the growing needs of our patients.

The renovated ED, made possible by generous donors, has 84 treatment spaces – 26 more than before. Innovations in patient intake and flow are speeding the rate of care and reducing patient wait times.   

Key improvements include:

• Arrival care zone: Hundreds of patients who arrive each day seeking emergency care now have access to quicker diagnoses and treatment.
• Results pending room: Those expecting test or imaging results can wait in this dedicated space – freeing up treatment rooms for people with more serious health concerns and reducing wait times.
• Dedicated resuscitation room: This opens to two CT scanners. This allows our expert stroke team to more quickly diagnose and treat stroke.
• Specialized treatment rooms: These are for patients with critical cardiac issues or infectious diseases.  
• Dedicated behavioral health pod: The pod is designed to keep both patients and caregivers safe. 
• Renovated pediatrics zone: This will allow us to enhance our response to our youngest patients’ needs.

While Providence St. Vincent’s renovation is now complete, the renovation of Providence Portland’s ED is still underway. When that work is complete in spring 2026, these two Providence emergency departments will be able to serve an additional 50,000 patients annually. That’s the equivalent of an entire new emergency department for Portland.

Both renovation projects are possible because thousands of donors chose to support Providence Foundation’s Tomorrow Starts Today campaign. In total, their donations have thus far raised $77.5 million – 89% percent of project costs – to re-imagine emergency care on both sides of the river. “We are grateful for the community support – the thousands of people who stepped forward with donations for these important projects,” said Jennifer Burrows, chief executive Providence – Oregon. “These renovated spaces will give us the ability to provide our community with faster access to emergency care.”  

 Facts:

• The emergency department at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center is Portland’s busiest ED.
• Patients made nearly 90,000 visits to the Providence St. Vincent ED in 2024, including 13,000 children – 8,000 more visits than just three years ago.
• Last year the emergency departments at Providence Portland and Providence St. Vincent medical centers served more than 150,000 patient visits.