PHOTO BY DAVID LOWE Metroplex Health System officials turn over the first shovels of dirt as part of a groundbreaking ceremony for a 14,500-square-foot addition to Metroplex Adventist Hospital's emergency department. Officials who spoke at the event included Ken Finch, center, chairman of the board of directors for Metroplex Adventist Hospital; Metroplex Health System president and chief executive officer Carlyle Walton, second from right; and Malae Lucas, right, director of emergency services at Metroplex. Metroplex Health System officials broke ground Thursday morning on an emergency department that will more than double the current facility's size and add a dozen treatment rooms.

The $14.2 million project will add 14,500 square feet to the emergency department. The existing 9,500 square feet will be renovated, as well.

The new emergency department will feature five critical-care cardiac rooms, four triage areas -- three more than in the existing facility -- and 25 examination rooms, nearly double the current 13, said Malae Lucas, director of emergency services. In addition, all rooms will be equipped with cardiac monitors, Ms. Lucas said.

"We are very, very excited about what this means for our patients," she said.

The current facility was built to accommodate about 28,000 patients annually, or slightly less than 80 a day, Ms. Lucas said. She projected that this year the Metroplex Emergency Department will treat about 52,000 patients.

"We're bursting at the seams," she said.

The new facility will be designed to handle as many as 70,000 patients per year. Ken Finch, chairman of the board of directors for Metroplex Adventist Hospi- tal, noted that the Metroplex Emergency Department is one of the largest divisions within the 37 hospitals Adventist Health Systems manages.

"This is a continuation of the growth of this community and our support for the community," Finch said.

DPR Construction Inc. of Austin is expected to complete the expansion work in about 14 months, said Carlyle Walton, president and chief executive officer of Metroplex Health System.

"This emergency center expansion is our gift to the community," Walton said.

The expansion is one of the first major capital projects Metroplex Health System has undertaken since beginning a partnership last year with Scott & White Healthcare, Finch said.

"We really appreciate that Scott & White is involved with us here," he said. "This is a true partnership."

Future plans include an 8,000-square-foot medical office that will house Scott & White physicians working primarily at Metroplex Hospital and an effort to recruit at least 13 new specialists by 2011.

Walton said Metroplex Health System's partnership with Scott & White will increase treatment opportunities in Killeen and in surrounding towns.

"Their scale, and the breadth and depth of what they offer will only enhance our ability to offer specialized care close to home," Walton said.