Emergency Departments Save Lives
Approximately 42.7% of people in the U.S. visited an Emergency Department (ED) in 2021 according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. When you have an injury or sudden illness, you want expert care — fast.
“Hospital Emergency Departments are staffed and equipped to provide care to people whose injuries or illnesses are either life-threatening or could cause long-term health issues or permanent disabilities,” explained Shane Sergent, DO, Penn Highlands Healthcare Central Region Medical Director of Emergency Medicine. “At Penn Highlands State College, our staff is trained in Emergency Medicine and we have the resources, such as Medical Imaging and a Lab, to help provide a diagnosis, as well as three, state-of-the-art surgical suites if needed.”
Why visit an Emergency Department?
Some of the reasons to seek care from an Emergency Department include;
- Chest pains
- Severe burns
- Head injuries
- Broken bones
- Breathing issues
- Stroke symptoms – weakness, drooping side of body, speech difficulties
- Dizziness
- Confusion
- Seizures
- Wounds
- Allergic reactions
- Behavioral health issues
What to expect upon arrival?
When people arrive in the ED, they go through triage which enables the medical team to determine the severity of the condition — from life-threatening to non-urgent treatment.
“It is important to establish who needs immediate care so that we can begin administering treatment,” explained Dr. Sergent. “While everyone considers their own medical needs an emergency, pinkeye, which should be diagnosed in a physician’s office or walk-in clinic, is not afforded the same level of urgency as stoke symptoms in a hospital ED,” he added.
Everything Under One Roof
At Penn Highlands State College, if a person requires admission following care in the ED, there are 18 private inpatient rooms on the second floor. Each room is designed for comfort and healing.
For people discharged from the ED with a prescription, there is a retail pharmacy located adjacent to the lobby so that they can have their medications filled before they even leave the building.
Penn Highlands Healthcare offers full-service emergency care services at Penn Highlands State College and each of our hospitals throughout Pennsylvania. To learn more, visit www.phhealthcare.org/ED.
