Emergency Services:
West Branch Regional Medical Center's Emergency Department is open 24 hours per day seven days per week. The emergency department features 11 patient treatment areas, including two trauma rooms, a decontamination room, infectious disease room and on-site radiology. All of the rooms are equipped with systems to continually monitor patient temperature, blood pressure, cardiac rhythm and pulse, providing nurses real-time readings at the nursing desk.
Understanding how the ER functions
| WBRMC Patient Visits by the Numbers (2011) |
| Total annual ER visits |
17582 |
| Number of patients age 14 and younger |
2724 |
| Busiest month |
July |
| Slowest month |
February |
| |
| WBRMC and National Averages |
WBRMC |
National |
| Number of visits to the ER |
17,582 |
123.8 million |
| Median time spent in emergency department |
3.3 hours |
3.2 hours |
| Percent of visits resulting in hospital admission |
12.6% |
13% |
Percent of visits resulting in transfer to higher level or specialized care needed
|
4.1% |
1.7% |
|
Learning how the ER works and what to expect can go a long way in reducing stress for future patient visits.
The medical center ER staff is highly trained to handle the array of conditions they encounter. All registered ER nurses are certified in advanced cardiac life support, pediatric advanced life support and trauma nursing. One doctor and one nurse practitioner or physician assistant, plus up to four nurses, are on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The busiest hours in ER are from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., according to Lori Zrebski, RN, and manager of the department.
An important procedure in the ER is the triage process. Upon your arrival, a nurse will gather information to prioritize you for treatment based on the severity of your condition. The ER staff treats the most seriously ill patient first, an approach used in most
emergency rooms and one that saves lives.
"We are going to see everybody in the most efficient manner we can," Zrebski said. "That's why triage is so important. You're not always going to be the first person
seen, but you will receive quality care when it's your turn for care."
The average time a patient can expect to spend in the medical center's ER is about 3.3 hours, just slightly longer than the national average. If you require extensive diagnostic tests, your visit may be longer because it will take time to obtain the results. Or, if the ER physician needs to consult with a specialist, you may find you have a longer wait.
Top 10 Diagnoses in the ER |
- Hypertension
- Fall or slip/trip/stumble
- Diabetes mellitus
- Acute pharyngitis
- Abdominal pain
- Cough
- Chest pain
- Accident in home
- Acute upper respiratory infection
- Anxiety state
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When you are called for treatment, you will move to a patient treatment room where a nurse will prepare you to see the physician. The physician will provide a preliminary diagnosis of your condition and order any necessary tests before making a final diagnosis. The physician may also consult other physicians before offering treatment.
The most common outcomes of an ER visit are: being treated and released, admitted for observation, admitted as an inpatient or being transferred to a facility with a higher level of specialty care.
The medical center does not turn patients away based on their ability
to pay, race, religion or gender. After treatment is completed, a medical bill will be
sent. You can typically expect to see charges for professional services, facility, pharmacy, supply and ancillary services such as radiology and laboratory work. A separate bill will be sent for emergency physician services, which typically account for about one-third of the total cost of the ER visit.
West Branch Regional Medical Center is committed to quality service and compassionate care. "We work very hard to ensure quality care and strive to meet and/or exceed our patients' expectations," Zrebski said. "We want to earn patients' continued loyalty."
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