A new emergency department at King’s Daughters Medical Center in Brookhaven is nearly complete.

The 19-bed department includes two large trauma bays and equally sized cardiac bays. Like the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit, the new emergency department also features built-in medical gas hookups, eliminating the need to occupy space with oxygen tanks and similar equipment.

Johnny Rainer, chief development officer for KDMC, says the department will be fully operational by the end of the month. It was a big part of the hospital’s $12 million upgrade, begun in 2007, which saw the opening of an 18-bed ICU less than a year ago.

Officials hope the upgrade will help draw in more patients to the facility, which has struggled with losses from treating uninsured patients.