What to Expect During Your Visit
Arrival
Whether you arrive by ambulance or car, you will be greeted by a triage nurse (a registered nurse with special training) who will obtain a brief history of your medical problem and ask you many questions in order to determine the level of emergency care that you need. You will also be asked questions about your medications, allergies, and level of pain. A technician will obtain your vital signs (temperature, pulse, breathing rate, and blood pressure). A registrar will initiate a medical chart for you and apply your identification band. All patients seen in the emergency department must be registered.
Treatment
After the triage process, you will be escorted to an area of the ED appropriate
for your medical needs: cardiac, trauma, stroke, emergent care, minor
treatment, or pediatrics.
A board certified emergency medicine physician or pediatrician will examine
you or your child as promptly as possible. If indicated, the physician
will order, and we will perform tests to diagnose and treat your problem.
After treatment, the physician will decide to admit you to the hospital
or send you home. If the decision is made to admit you to the hospital,
your primary physician will be notified and then you need to wait for
the correct bed to become available to treat your specific problem.
Discharge
If your problem does not require admission to the hospital, you will be discharged with instructions and prescriptions for medicines if indicated. You will need to follow-up with your primary physician or specialist. If you do not have a physician, we will refer you to one for follow-up care of your problem.