Emergency care
Emergency care is the treatment of unexpected, severe medical injuries or infections. It is typically delivered in an emergency room or an ambulance. Our emergency medicine physicians stabilize your condition as quickly as possible to prepare you for the next step of care or discharge.
24-hour emergency room (ER) in Bradenton, Florida
When the unexpected occurs and you need emergency medical attention fast, the emergency room at HCA Florida Blake Hospital is prepared to deliver the lifesaving care you need.
Our ER in Bradenton, Florida, is open 24/7 and staffed by board-certified emergency physicians. This means whether you have symptoms of a stroke or unexplained chest pain, we're here for you.
Related Specialties
Learn more about our related specialties
High-quality emergency care
To ensure you receive the best possible emergency care, we are proud to offer a variety of services at our hospital, including:
Comprehensive stroke care
A cerebrovascular accident, or stroke, is a serious neurological condition in which a problem occurs with the blood supply in the brain. A stroke requires expert care and immediate medical attention by specialists — which we offer at our hospital.
In fact, we are the first and only certified Comprehensive Stroke Center in Manatee County, Florida, as designated by DNV GL Healthcare. This recognition means we deliver some of the highest quality care using evidence-based treatments backed by cutting-edge research. It also means our hospital has the personnel, infrastructure and expertise to diagnose and treat stroke patients who require intensive medical and surgical care, specialized tests or interventional therapies.
Emergency care for cardiac conditions
Chest pain and other cardiac conditions are some of the most common reasons people come to our emergency room. To increase our readiness, our hospital staff has established a community initiative with Manatee County emergency medical services (EMS) to treat patients with cardiac conditions faster.
To do this, our emergency team partners with local EMS to provide the fastest and best care possible by communicating before you even enter our doors. Additionally, to ensure a quick diagnosis and treatment, our emergency physicians and staff work closely with specialists in our cardiovascular program. This includes cardiologists, the catheterization lab teams and other medical specialists and diagnostic services within the hospital.
Trauma center
To ensure you receive the care you deserve, we offer a Level II Trauma Center as designated by the Florida Department of Health. This means our hospital has trained trauma specialists onsite 24/7.
Additionally, you'll also receive access to our specialty services, including laboratory testing, advanced imaging and surgical care. Our trauma doctors will collaborate with these and other specialists to ensure you receive seamless care.
Our emergency room wait times
When it comes to emergency care, our goal is to continually work toward enhancing the care you receive, while reducing our wait times. This ensures you get the care you need, when you need it most.
Our wait times are updated every 30 minutes and are available on our website.
To find out the wait times of the HCA Florida emergency room nearest to you, check the top of our website or text "ER" to 32222.
Note: Message and data rates may apply. Emergency room wait times are approximate and provided for informational purposes only.
When to go to the emergency room
We understand it can be hard to know what type of medical care you need, like whether you should go to the emergency room or wait for your doctor's office to open.
However, we want you to feel secure about your choice for care, which is why we've created a list of symptoms that may indicate you need to visit the emergency room:
- Back pain, when it is unbearable or accompanied by fever, numbness, weakness, confusion, slurred speech, vision loss or loss of control over bladder or bowels
- Broken bones, when the pain is severe or there is a visible deformity
- Chest pain, when it is crushing or squeezing and accompanied by other heart attack symptoms, such as shortness of breath or nausea
- Concussion, when you have lost consciousness, even briefly, or experience amnesia, vomiting, slurred speech or a seizure
- Flu, when symptoms become severe, such as having trouble breathing, vomiting uncontrollably or becoming dehydrated
- Side pain, when it is severe and occurs in the lower right stomach, side or back or is accompanied by fever, nausea, diarrhea or blood in the urine
- Stomach pain, when accompanied by a hard or tender stomach, nausea, shortness of breath, fever or irregular heartbeat
- Trouble breathing, when breathing stops, is noisy or high-pitched and comes with pain in the chest or severe shortness of breath
If you are unsure if your symptoms require an emergency room visit, you can speak to a nurse 24/7 by calling our Consult-A-Nurse® team at (888) 359-3552.
What to expect at the emergency room
When you get to the emergency room, one of our triage nurses will assess your symptoms and vital signs. Next, a registration clerk will collect your insurance card (if available) and other information.
We medically screen, evaluate and stabilize all patients — whether or not they have insurance or are able to pay.
Anyone who has severe, life-threatening illnesses or injuries will be treated first. Everyone else will be treated in the order they arrive.
Before discharge, we encourage you to ask our emergency care teams any questions you have. It is also useful for you to keep all of your paperwork, discharge information and medicines or prescriptions together after you leave the emergency room.
What to bring to the emergency room
When coming to the emergency room, we recommend you bring:
- A list of medicines you currently take
- A list of known allergies
- Copies of results from recent medical tests, if available
- Personal care preferences and restrictions
- A responsible adult or phone number for someone to contact
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