Page 7 - NRMC Today-Fall 2023

A Glimpse into Emergency Medicine
A typical shift in the Emergency Department -- 6:30 am – The ER begins to quietdownfromanactivenight. Fivepatientshavebeenadmitted,including
a 62-year-oldwhowastreatedintheERforastrokeandisnowbeingcaredfor intheIntensiveCareUnit. A24-year-oldcameinaroundmidnightwithfever, severe abdominal pain, and a history of diverticulitis. General Surgery Associates were called in, and she was admitted to the Medical Surgical Unit. About an hour later, the ER physician diagnosed a 41-year-old with sepsis caused by a severely infected cut on his hand. He went to the Medical Surgical Unit and the Wound Care team was notified to round on him. The family of a 92-year-old came in concerned because their father had blood in his urine and fever. He was taken to ICU for a severe urinary tract infection and high blood pressure. Twenty minutes later, the ER physician called in a surgeon from NRMC Orthopedic Associates to see a 21-year-old with a broken femur who arrived by ambulance following a car wreck. The orthopedic surgeon scheduled her for emergency surgery. Meanwhile nineotherpatientsarecurrentlyintheERbeingseen. At6:45am,theERteam
is notified that an NRMC ambulance is enroute with a patient in cardiac arrest. Everyone in the ER mobilizes quickly.
A Popular Place
At NRMC, our Emergency Department includes doctors, nurses, and allied health professionals from across the hospital. It takes a team to serve the 50,000+ residents in our region. Annually, about 16,000 people come into the ER in addition to 25,000 who use the NRMC Walk-in Clinic for minor urgent care needs.
With two cardiac rooms, two trauma rooms, and 10 treatment rooms, the Emergency Department can diagnose and treat many patients each day. Specially trained and experienced in emergency medicine, our doctors, nurses, and allied health professionals in respiratory therapy, phlebotomy, and other specializations provide care 24 hours a day, every day. The highly skilled nursing team is trained in Advanced Cardiac Life Support, Pediatric Advanced Life Support, Trauma Nurse Core Curriculum, and Emergency Nurse Pediatric Certification.
Backed by the Full Services of NRMC
The Emergency Department has immediate support from all hospital departments with many subspecialty services available such as cardiology, pulmonary, otolaryngology, orthopedics, gynecology, obstetrics, general surgery, oncology, nephrology, and more. If a patient needs diagnostic laboratory services, imaging, or other tests or procedures, the Emergency team will work with Associates throughout the hospital to coordinate care quickly and effectively.
Whatever a shift may bring, the Emergency Department team is prepared to respond. In fact, they are ahead of the national average
for response times and in achieving good patient outcomes. NRMC also provides ambulance service to the region, and highly trained EMTs save lives daily. Upon arrival in the ER, critically ill or injured patients’ needs are immediately addressed. Patients with less serious issues are greeted at the door and triaged quickly upon arrival so nurses can start orders for patients to see doctors and nurse practitioners.
Beyond the ED
There are many other professionals whose services are extremely important for ER patients, including the Surgery Department, Medical Surgical Unit, and the Intensive Care Unit. Each are staffed with highly trained nurses and allied health professionals as well as support personnel. The NRMC Intensive Care Unit has a very low nurse-to-patient ratio, where exceptional critical care nurses, hospitalists and other specialists help some of the hospital’s most seriously ill patients. Sometimes it is necessary to transfer a patient to another health system for care such as open-heart surgery or neurosurgery.
Hospitalists
Hospitalists create care plans as they work with the patients who are admitted to the hospital. For those coming in from the ER, the hospitalists work around the clock to stabilize each patient’s immediate health needs. Hospitalists order tests, medications, and treatments, as they coordinate care and lead a multidisciplinary team. Above all else, patient safety is always the first priority.
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