SCK Emergency Services
Emergency medical care. Right now.
Every second counts. Our emergency room staff are the finest in the area with specialized training in trauma and pediatrics.
We offer state-of-the-art diagnostic capabilities such as CT-scan, and Ultrasound in addition to having “stat” laboratory services. Although emergency medicine is considered a high pressure, constantly changing environment, we are committed to providing the highest quality emergency care possible.
What to expect during your Emergency Room visit.
The emergency medical departments are trained to treat patients with more serious conditions first. This process is known as “triage”.
What is triage?
Triage is an ongoing screening process that classifies patients into four categories of urgency based on their symptoms. These categories are based on how quickly patients need to be seen by an emergency physician and determine which patients are placed in treatment rooms first.
Critical
These patients have extremely serious injuries or illnesses that may be life-threatening if they are not treated immediately. The medical staff will see critical patients immediately. Examples of critical conditions include cardiac arrest, heart attack and respiratory distress.
Acute
The condition of a patient with these types of serious illnesses or injuries may deteriorate, or the patient may suffer long-term problems if not treated as quickly as possible. The medical staff will see acute patients after all critical patients. Examples of acute conditions include altered mental status, severe fractures and shortness of breath.
Urgent
These patients have medical conditions that are not immediately life-threatening, and the condition will not deteriorate if the patient must wait for treatment. Urgent patients are treated after all critical and acute patients. Examples of urgent conditions include abdominal pain, cuts needing stitches and most ankle and arm fractures.
Non-urgent
These patients could reasonably wait for treatment at a minor medical facility or a physician’s office. Non-urgent patients are treated after all critical, acute and urgent patients. Examples of non-urgent conditions include second opinions, general aches and pains, fever that responds to over-the-counter medicine, dental pain or an earache, cough or sore throat.
During the triage process, a nurse or paramedic will assess each patient’s symptoms to determine the urgency of the condition and provide first aid as needed. After first aid is provided, a patient’s condition may be less urgent, which could result in that patient being reclassified in a less serious category.
If a patient’s condition worsens while waiting, that patient may be placed in a more serious category.
