Provident Hospital’s emergency room reopened Monday morning, two weeks after Cook County officials made the decision to temporarily close the facility when an employee there tested positive for the coronavirus.
At the time, county officials also said they had been told the layout of the emergency room would hamper social distancing efforts.
During the past two weeks, crews have, among other things, re-configured seating inside the ER to meet social distancing guidelines, as well as creating a designated seating area for patients suspected of having the coronavirus, a spokeswoman for Cook County Health said in a statement.
While the facility has been closed, patients arriving at the ER were either triaged, sent to a neighboring hospital or seen by a Provident doctor in another part of the hospital, officials said.
The remainder of the hospital has remained opened during the work at the emergency room.
