Maui Memorial Medical Center held a groundbreaking ceremony yesterday for its $9.1 million Emergency Department expansion project.

The project will expand the department by 6,200 square feet and add nine treatment and exam bays, bringing the total to 30, and a second triage room. Other improvements include a larger waiting room, an on-call physician sleep room and an outdoor garden and sitting area.

Maui Memorial's Emergency Department is the second busiest in the state, with 33,000 visits last year, according to hospital officials.

The expansion project is scheduled for completion in the summer of 2008.