Not Just Another Pretty ER

Serious emergencies get serious care at St. Joseph

In 2004, St. Joseph Medical Center more than tripled in size its original Emergency Department of 8,000 square feet. But what the hospital's new Harry & Jeanette Weinberg "Specialty" Emergency Department offers is much more than just another pretty ER.

"We completely restructured our Emergency Department (ED) protocols to make sure that serious emergencies receive specialty care faster and more accurately than ever before," says Gail Cunningham, M.D., head of Emergency Medicine at St. Joseph. A significant part of getting specialty care is in the diagnosis, says Cunningham. That's where St. Joseph's specialty care shines.

"We're not depending on residents and interns for diagnosing serious emergencies," she explains. "We have board-certified - and in some cases, double board-certified - emergency medicine physicians who are experienced and trained specifically to detect and diagnose serious emergencies."

It's the sort of precision diagnosis that could mean the difference between life and death.

Accurate Diagnosis is the Rule

More than 90 million visits are made to emergency departments every year. The most common reasons for ED visits are chest pain, abdominal pain, fever, headache and shortness of breath. The conditions that exhibit these symptoms - myocardial infarction, acute abdominal problems and meningitis - are, according to the American College of Emergency Physicians, among the most at risk for misdiagnosis.

"The number one rule in emergency medicine," says Cunningham, "is to accurately diagnose the situation that has brought someone to the ED."

In January 2004, St. Joseph celebrated its newly renovated ED. But even before then, St. Joseph had developed new protocols designed to ensure the most accurate diagnosis and to streamline serious emergencies, including top staffing.

In addition to board-certified emergency medicine physicians, this includes nursing staff who are certified in emergency care.

"Specialty" Care at Your Fingertips

Besides experts in emergency medicine, St. Joseph offers a roster of on-call specialists - from cardiologists and gastroenterologists to orthopaedic surgeons and pediatric specialists.

Among the top symptoms for which people visit emergency rooms is chest pain, a key sign of heart attack. Minutes - even seconds - count, and action in St. Joseph's ED is swift.

Emergency medicine physicians and nurses are trained to stabilize quickly, and leading cardiologists are on-hand to treat - whether through angioplasty or surgery - in St. Joseph's Top 100 Heart Hospital*.

In many cases, what patients need is direct access to top specialists once emergency physicians have diagnosed their condition. Patients who visit St. Joseph's ED get that kind of access through preferred follow-up appointments with specialists like gastroenterologists and orthopaedic surgeons.

"Peace of mind is priceless, both for the patient and his or her family," says Cunningham. "We achieve that by offering an accurate diagnosis, and then getting them the specialty treatment they need quickly."

Among national Catholic Health Initiatives hospitals, St. Joseph has maintained a place as a leader in patient satisfaction in its ED. This, in large part, is due to a strong sense of customer service among ED staff and an ingrained mission of providing loving service and compassionate care.

*St. Joseph has been ranked as a national Solucient Top 100 Heart Hospital seven times - more often than any Maryland hospital.