Augusta Health just finished a complete overhaul of its emergency department, doubling its square footage. Doctors are excited about the new space, saying it will help better serve patients.

This renovation started back in 2017 and renovations have been done in phases. The whole thing cost about $22 million.

The hospital can now serve more people after expanding its emergency department from 35 beds to 48 beds. Some of the updates include larger private rooms, updated technology and charging stations for cell phones and other devices.

The area has not been updated since the hospital opened in 1994. Doctors say this renovation brings the department into the 21st century.

“If you talk to staff that were there at that time, they talked about how big and open - they thought they would never need to renovate it. By the time 2017 came along, we were well needed into a renovation. We were taking care of patients in the hallways and just not providing the care that we wanted to provide,” Dr. Adam Rochman, Medical Director of the Augusta Health Emergency Department, said.

Staff says the original emergency department was built to handle about 35,000 patients each year. In recent years, that number has jumped to 60,000 visits each year.

With this project completed, the staff at Augusta Health say they have a number of other projects happening next year they're planning to announce.