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The Emergency Department at UPMC Western Maryland is open 24/7 with providers treating serious and life-threatening illnesses and injuries. UPMC Western Maryland offers the only Level III Adult Trauma Center in the region. If you or a loved one is experiencing an emergency, please pick up the phone and dial 911 to get the help you need.
Choose the Emergency Department over an Urgent Care Center if you’re experiencing symptoms, such as:
Our Emergency Department uses a sorting system called triage, not a first-come-first-served order, to treat our patients. During triage, a specially trained registered nurse will assess you to determine what
Emergency Severity Index (ESI) level 1-5 scale you fall in with 1 being the most critical.
This sorting process ensures our patients with the most serious injuries or illnesses are treated first. For example, if a patient arrives with chest pain, he or she is treated before you if you arrived earlier but have a swollen ankle. Heart attacks have priority over earaches, and complicated fractures are treated before smaller cuts.
Our Emergency Department Team is proficient in lifesaving skills and has expert knowledge in the delivery of care within emergency medicine. The UPMC Western Maryland Emergency Department team includes:
UPMC Western Maryland is one of only three Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems verified Level III Adult Trauma Centers.
As the only Trauma Center in Maryland’s Region 1, we serve Garrett and Allegany Counties in Maryland as well as Mineral, Hampshire, Grant, and Morgan Counties in West Virginia, and Bedford and Somerset Counties in Pennsylvania.
UPMC Western Maryland has around-the-clock access to a team of skilled medical professionals who are specially trained to provide the highest level of care available to severely injured or ill patients. Our team includes:
The Pediatric Observation Unit at UPMC Western Maryland enhances the care that UPMC Western Maryland can provide to our youngest patients.
Some features include:
If you or someone you know has experienced intimate partner violence, sexual violence, elder or vulnerable adult abuse, or child physical or sexual assault/abuse, we are here to help. UPMC Western Maryland offers confidential, compassionate forensic nursing services for individuals of all ages.
Forensic nurse examiners at UPMC Western Maryland provide both medical and forensic services to support the physical and emotional well-being of patients who have suffered abuse, while also preserving evidence for potential legal purposes. In addition to medical and forensic care, they connect patients with community resources that may assist them during this difficult time.
Call 240-364-7000 and ask for Forensic Nursing Services. Forensic nurse examiners are located at UPMC Western Maryland.
If you are in imminent danger, call 911.
If the condition is life-threatening, our patients are taken directly to the acute treatment area and begin care immediately. This area includes four trauma rooms that are equipped with the resources necessary to provide treatment for severe and/or multiple injuries. Other rooms are specially equipped to deal with other serious health issues, such as chest pain, that require intensive evaluation and treatment.
There are many instances when the needed level of care falls somewhere in the middle of the acuity range. In order to reduce the wait times, a new Rapid Medical Evaluation (RME) area is available every day from 9 a.m. until 11 p.m.
The RME area provides space where our team of providers can assess serious health issues and get any required lab or radiology exams underway more quickly. This innovative approach greatly reduces the wait time to see a provider and decreases the length of stay in the ED. In addition, having the RME area keeps beds free in the acute area of the ED for the most serious and life-threatening conditions.
An Emergency Department nurse evaluates your condition and will ask about your medical history, current medications, and drug allergies. One of our ED physicians, physician assistants, or nurse practitioners will assess and discuss the problem with you, recommend a course of treatment, and possibly order a diagnostic test or a specialist consultation.
We screen our patients for domestic violence, smoking, alcohol, and drug use. Our ED team members can provide referrals for any of these issues if wanted or needed.
An illness or injury may require admission to the hospital. After the admission is processed, one of our nurses will transport you to an available bed.
In the event that your condition requires treatment not available at UPMC Western Maryland, arrangements will be made to have you transferred to another healthcare facility. One of our physicians will determine whether you will go by ambulance, helicopter, or private vehicle.
If cleared for discharge, one of our nurses will review written instructions with you to ensure that you understand any medications that you have been prescribed and will review follow-up care.
