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.
Emergency room (ER) in Port Charlotte, Florida
Emergencies almost always happen unexpectedly, but at HCA Florida Fawcett Hospital, we're standing by to provide the expert emergency care you deserve, when you need it most.
We have been providing patient-centered emergency care since 1975, and we treated more than 22,000 patients just last year. Our 20-bed emergency room near North Port, Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda, Florida, provides high-quality emergency services available 24/7. Together, our skilled emergency medicine team provides the prompt, compassionate care you need to heal.
High-quality emergency treatment
When it comes to emergency situations, timely and effective care is essential for good outcomes.
Because of this, we work hard every day to improve efficiency and quality, so you receive fast, exceptional care.
This continued commitment has been recognized by Healogics with the Robert A. Warriner III, M.D., Center of Excellence Award for wound care. This shows our dedication to the most important person in the room — you.
Emergency treatments we offer
Our highly trained emergency room doctors, nurses and staff provide evaluations and emergency treatments. We diagnose and treat a wide variety of sudden and chronic illnesses as well as major and minor injuries.
Some of the emergency services we offer include:
- Allergic reaction stabilization and treatment
- Burn care
- Cardiac and respiratory resuscitation
- Chest tube insertion
- Electrocardiogram (ECG) recording and interpretation
- Emergency cardioversion
- Emergency temporary pacemaker insertion
- General wound care
- Hazardous material exposure decontamination
- Medication overdose stabilization and treatment
- Orthopedic fracture management
- Psychiatric stabilization and emergency treatment
- Simple and complex laceration repair
Gastrointestinal (GI) emergency services
Patients often make a trip to the ER because of severe stomach pain. Because of this, our facility includes a dedicated GI Center, equipped to care for a multitude of gastric conditions, from food poisoning to colon cancer. Here, our experienced gastroenterologists diagnose and treat patients in need of immediate medical attention.
Nationally recognized stroke care
A 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, and we are proud to offer that care at our hospital.
Because of our dedication to stroke treatment, we have been recognized by The Joint Commission as a Primary Stroke Center. We are also certified as a Comprehensive Stroke Center by the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration.
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)-685-1599.
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.
After discharge, our emergency department staff will reach out to your primary care provider to ensure they are updated on your care.
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
The Healthy Living Blog
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