Emergency Services

EMERGENCY SERVICES
David Miller, RN, Director
david.miller@tenethealth.com
(843) 689-8281

Our Trauma Level III Emergency Department is staffed by board-certified residency-trained Emergency physicians. The Emergency Department is fully-staffed by these physicians, emergency and critical care trained nurses, nurse practitioners and technicians 24 hours a day. We provide services relating to preservation of life and limb including advanced life support and major and minor emergency care. We arrange both inpatient and outpatient care to include admissions and surgery.

The Emergency Department recently expanded to better serve its estimated 20,000 annual patients with a new 23-bed unit. Dedicated rooms include trauma, cardiac, ENT, OB/GYN, Orthopedic, Suture, Psychiatric, Isolation, and Observation Rooms. Tertiary care is provided by hospitals in Savannah, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina for major chest and head trauma. Patients are transported by ambulance, helicopter, or fixed-wing aircraft depending on the injury and/or transport requirements. Included in the Emergency Department is a "Rapid Care " staffed by nurse practitioners who treat the non-acute patients enabling the Emergency Department personnel to focus on the more acute patients.

The nursing staff is Emergency qualified (by annual competencies) with Advanced Cardiac Life Support and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation certifications. Many hold additional qualifications such as Certified Emergency Nurses, Trauma Nurse Core Course certifications (TNCC), and Emergency Nurses Pediatric Course certification (ENPC).
All patients appearing at the Emergency Department will be seen. During registration, it will assist us if the patient's insurance cards are available. Persons registering the patient should be prepared to answer questions regarding the patient's past medical history, current prescribed medications and any allergies the patient may have.

Frequently asked questions:

Why are people that arrived after me taken to a room before me?

Patients are seen in the Emergency Department in order of severity of medical condition as determined by a Triage Nurse, not on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Why can't I come right back to a room with someone I've brought to the Emergency Department?

All patients have a right to have their privacy protected when discussing medical conditions with the physicians and nurses. This pertains to family as well as friends. Even spouses have a right to see a physician without the other spouse present. Visitors will be accommodated as soon as possible without compromising privacy. Minors may have a parent present anytime and those people not mentally competent may have someone with them.

If I am triaged to the Fast Track Emergency Room and am supposed to see a nurse practitioner, may I request that I be seen by a physician?

Yes, absolutely.