If you or a loved one are not certain if a visit to the emergency room is necessary, please go to your nearest ER for an evaluation. Chest pain can be a sign of a heart attack. Call or have someone take you to the closest emergency room if your chest pain lasts longer than 5 minutes or does not go away when you rest or take medication. Note the time that the symptoms first appear. Do not drive yourself to the hospital; call an ambulance so medical personnel can begin life-saving treatment on the way to the emergency room.
Minutes matter. Stroke treatments work best only if the stroke is recognized and diagnosed within the first 3 hours of the first symptoms. You may be tested even if you are not experiencing symptoms. Is it safe to go to the emergency room? The emergency room is the best place to be when timely medical care is required. It is important to treat serious medical conditions promptly before they worsen and become life-threatening. For many medical emergencies like heart attack and stroke, quick treatment can be the difference between life and death.
Our team is taking precautions to keep the ER as safe as possible including limiting visitors, mask wearing, increased cleaning and disinfecting and the wearing of personal protective equipment PPE. How long will I have to wait? Our care teams do everything they can to see patients as soon as possible.
Wait times depend on many factors including number of patients currently being seen and severity of patient ailments. Sometimes patients need more time in the ER than predicted. We want to give our patients all the help and information they came for. While you are waiting, please let a staff member know if there is anything they can help you with. We understand seeing others get examined before you can be difficult. Emergency rooms use a system called triage to recognize which patients need urgent medical attention and treat them accordingly.
If, while waiting, you begin to feel so unwell that you start getting chills or become nauseated, please let a staff member know.
