Emergency Services

When you arrive at the Emergency Department, please give your name to the Registration personnel at the front desk. Please let them know if you need an interpreter.

Our goal is to provide care as soon as possible, and make you more comfortable. A Registered Nurse will make a visual assessment and check your temperature, pulse, blood pressure and breathing. The nurse will ask about your illness or injury, allergies, current medication, and level of pain. The nurse may ask for a urine sample as part of the Triage assessment. The nurse may also offer you Tylenol or Motrin for pain or fever. First aid, such as minor bandaging, and ice packs may beinitiated.

For our pediatric patients who need an IV or blood test, the nurse may apply a numbing cream with a bandage over it to make the needle stick less painful.

The triage nurse will decide which area of the Emergency Department you will go for treatment, and if you need to be seen ahead of others who are waiting. The Triage Nurse works closely with the Charge Nurse to promptly help move patients into treatment areas. Patient treatment is determined by severity of illness, not by order of arrival.

The registration clerk will ask for additional information such as your address and medical insurance. Please have your drivers license ready. Once you have been a patient at this hospital, your information is kept securely in the computer system. The registration clerk will still check and update the information. You will be asked to sign an “authorization and consent ” form allowing Emergency Department staff to treat you and bill your insurance company for care provided. The registration clerk will place an identification band on your wrist.

If you do not have a life threatening injury, you may be asked to take a seat in the waiting room after you are done with the triage nurse and registration clerk. We work hard to move patients into rooms as quickly as possible.

Inside the treatment area, you may be asked to change into a hospital gown. The nurse may need to recheck your blood pressure, pulse, temperature and breathing. The nurse and doctor may ask you some of the same questions the Triage Nurse did; this is done to be sure we fully understand all the details of your illness or injury.

Blood work usually takes one hour for completion. Please make sure you receive the results before discharge - they cannot be released over the phone. X-Rays usually take one hour. CAT Scans and ultrasound tests may take longer because of patient preparation. Patients having X-rays, CAT Scans or ultrasound may need to remove their jewelry prior to the exam. Please give valuables (money, jewelry etc.) to a family member before going in for treatment.

Our staff understand a visit to the Emergency Department may be stressful, and a family member or loved one can make your visit more comfortable. The nurse or doctor may ask your visitor to stay in the waiting room for a brief period of time to provide privacy during your interview or examination. Privacy for all of our patients is a priority. Visitors must stay at the patient bedside if in the treatment area.

If the physician decides to admit you to the hospital, you will receive emergency care before moving to an inpatient unit. If you are being admitted, please send all valuables home with your family. There may be a delay of several hours as your inpatient room is prepped and your physician prepares your treatment plan.

If you are discharged from the Emergency Department, you will receive printed discharge instructions, which the nurse will review with you before you leave. We are happy to answer all of your questions.