Emergency Department

Della Thurston, RN, is the Director of the JPMC Emergency Room.

Many events in our lives are unplanned and unexpected. But that doesn't mean we have to be unprepared. To meet emergency healthcare needs, Jackson Purchase Medial Center's Emergency Department is ready — 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

A visit to the hospital emergency room may cause a great deal of fear, anxiety and stress. Patients and their families want their needs taken care of as quickly as possible. Our goal is to care for all patients who enter our Emergency Room - and sometimes that means treating the most critical patients first.

After an initial assessment, patients are cared for based on the nature of the illness or injury. Those in life-threatening, critical-care situations are always given top priority. And usually this order is constantly shifting as new, unexpected patients arrive. We try our best under these conditions to keep everyone apprised of an estimated time for treatment.

Other factors may also affect the time it takes to receive treatment:

• A patient might require a specific room with equipment that is already in use.

• Results of some procedures like x-rays, lab tests and scans take time to be processed.

• Specialty physicians may have to be consulted and examine a patient.

• Some patients might be waiting for admission to the hospital.

And of course, there's always the need for information from a patient or a family member. These items include: consent for care, insurance, billing and the creation of records for your visit.