Emergency Department

Readily available emergency care with highly skilled physicians and nurses is crucial to a community. At St. Francis Hospital, our Emergency Department is staffed by nurses and physicians specially trained in emergency medicine, plus we have a wide range of specialists available on call. Emergency services are available 24 hours a day.

Because of our dedication to providing a full spectrum of cardiovascular care, we have two specially-equipped cardiovascular care rooms. In a cardiac emergency, thrombolytic drugs can sometimes be utilized to dissolve blood clots and decrease further damage to the heart. This frontline defense against heart attack or arrhythmia must be administered within six hours or less of the onset of a heart attack to be effective. 

Patients presenting signs and symptoms of a stroke are immediately met by a specially trained team that will rapidly identify and treat the stroke. A disability saving medication is administered to patients who present to the St. Francis Emergency Department within three hours of their first symptom and meet specific medical criteria. In addition, state-of-the-art neurosurgical services are available through a network of supporting facilities.

Designed for Patient Safety
When St. Francis' new Emergency Department was designed, patient safety was at the forefront of the planning process. As a result, St. Francis' state-of-the-art Emergency area offers:

• Large, well-lit rooms positioned so that any critical changes in patient conditions can easily be assessed, greatly enhancing medical personnel's ability to respond quickly.
• New technology for advanced monitoring of heart patients and others.
• A pneumatic tube system to send lab specimens for quicker results.
• Enhanced radiology assessment capabilities.
• A computerized PIXIS system that keeps supplies and medications readily available without time-consuming paperwork.
• Bedside registration so that treatment is not delayed.