emergency and trauma

Anderson Emergency Department provides:

• Rapid assessments of cardiac disease and trauma
• Rapid assessments of patients with stroke symptoms as well as the latest in stroke care, including clot-busting agents
• Expert treatment for patients of all ages, from children to older adults
• Highly trained and skilled medical staff, including board-certified emergency physicians, surgeons and surgical sub-specialists committed to caring for traumatically injured patients
• An expertly trained nursing staff, all certified in advanced cardiac life support and pediatric advanced life support, and trained in disaster and Hazmat management
• Trauma certified nurses
• Access to mental health resources
• Advanced technologies, including digital X-ray technology that allows the radiologist and physician to view test results simultaneously, and bedside ultrasound for trauma patients requiring quick assessments for major organ injuries
• Helipad access for our most critical patients

Anderson Regional Medical Center’s critical care patients are ALWAYS top priority, no matter who has been waiting longer in the Emergency Department.

Initial assessment
Your visit will begin with an initial assessment by the Triage Nurse. This nurse will evaluate your symptoms, vital signs, medical history and current medications to determine whether you have a critical or non-critical condition, and assign you a Triage Level. Patients are seen based on the Triage Level, NOT in the order in which they arrive. More seriously ill patients are seen first, even though they may come to the department after other patients.

What happens after triage?
You will be seen by the doctor as soon as possible and, if you are triaged as emergently ill, you will be seen ahead of anyone who is not emergently ill.

How do I leave the ER?
Once all of your test results are back, your doctor will discuss your plan of care. Most patients are treated and discharged to go home from the emergency room. You will receive written instructions about how to take care of yourself after you leave the hospital. It is important to follow these instructions, take all prescribed medications and schedule a follow-up appointment with your personal physician. If you have questions about your discharge instructions, please ask your nurse.

If you are admitted to the hospital, you will be transferred to a patient room and we will notify your primary care physician. If you do not have a physician, a physician from our staff — called a hospitalist — will coordinate your care while you are at our hospital.

Visitors
Due to safety precautions, only one visitor is allowed in a room with an adult patient; two visitors are allowed with pediatric patients.