One of the busiest emergency rooms in the Capital Region will be getting an upgrade to accommodate the thousands of patients that it serves each year. Our Erin Vannella has more on the Ellis Hospital's ER construction project that has been five years in the making.

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SCHENECTADY, N.Y. -- Emergencies is what they do, but now they want to do them better.

"Obviously our goal as nurses and physicians is to get patients in their rooms quicker and to be able to treat them as quickly as possible," said John Voight, Ellis Hospital Director of Emergency Services.

Ellis Hospital broke ground on its new ER which will nearly double the current space, minimize wait time, add brand new CT and digital x-ray machines, and doors on every room.

"We're going to have 60 private rooms," said Voight. "These are private rooms so we'll be able to get patients into their rooms, and be able to conduct interviews and assessments, and treat them in a private setting."

It's an update five years in the making bringing long desired changes to the hospital that sees 85,000 patients per year. Former patients said Schenectady and the Capital Region deserve it.

"Treatment was good five years ago but you know what, the needs of the community continue to grow and hospitals like Ellis have to continue to meet those needs," said Chris Koetzle, Glenville Town Supervisor. "This is going to make sure Ellis is always going to be able to meet those needs as the community expands."

And with any luck, those working on Schenectady's front lines said the new amenities may help save lives.

"It may be in the future that if Ellis is able to do more, we may not have to make that trip to Albany Med," said Michael Della Rocco, Schenectady Fire Chief. "We can't really know right now but we'll see."