Anyone who visits a hospital emergency department – whether for a sprained ankle or a suspected heart attack – wants two things: top-quality care and a short wait for treatment. Thanks to the new Emergency Department (ED) and skilled staff at Pottstown Memorial Medical Center (PMMC), patients receive both.
PMMC’s Emergency Department is equipped with the latest advances in lifesaving equipment. Full cardiac monitoring and trauma stabilization capabilities are available. Advanced diagnostic capabilities as well as 24-hour radiology services – including CT, MRI, x-ray and more – are on hand. To provide the best diagnostic treatment, cardiopulmonary and laboratory services are also available. The ED is also equipped with ProMed electronic patient tracking, a computerized system enabling the staff to track wait times and manage patients throughout the department.
For patient comfort and convenience, the ED features a spacious waiting area, a private triage room, 31 treatment areas and a central nurse’s station. Patients are immediately taken to one of the ED’s spacious rooms, where they are registered at the bedside as they are being treated. This streamlines the registration process and ensures the patient’s condition is assessed and allows for the medical treatment process to begin. Patients with less severe symptoms are taken to the “FastTrack” area featuring eight treatment rooms and staffed by specially trained nurse practitioners and physicians’ assistants.
These new, improved processes are all designed to improve the patient’s experience in the Emergency Department while maintaining the highest standards of emergency care. According to Rich McLaughlin, MD, medical director, patients are pleased. “We continue to receive very positive feedback through our ER+ satisfaction surveys.” PMMC’s emergency department sees about 45,000 patients each year.
