Emergency

Your First Stop for Emergency Care

The Emergency Department at Yadkin County Community Hospital is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with capable, compassionate doctors, nurses and support staff standing by to address a broad range of medical emergencies, including:

• Accidents
• Heart attacks
• Strokes
• Breathing problems
• Allergic reactions

If a patient’s condition appears life-threatening, we take immediate action to diagnose, stabilize and treat based on best practices and proven, life-saving protocols.

After their condition is stabilized, patients may be admitted to our hospital for further observation and treatment. Those who require more advanced, specialized care may be transferred by ambulance to nearby trauma centers. Many patients can be treated and released to return home.

Prompt, Easy Access to Emergency Medical Care

When patients arrive at our Emergency Department, a staff member collects basic registration information and a triage (pronounced “TREE-ahje”) nurse checks each one to determine how urgently they need treatment.

Our policy is always to care for every patient as quickly as possible, but patients whose problems are less severe may have to wait while we take care of patients whose conditions appear more urgent.

Once in the treatment area, patients see the doctor or physician assistant on duty, assisted by nurses who specialize in emergency care. The hospital’s Laboratory and Radiology departments are available around the clock to provide tests as needed to diagnose the patient’s condition quickly and accurately.

Therapists from our Respiratory Care and Physical Therapy departments are also on call to support the Emergency Department staff whenever patients need immediate, specialized therapy.

Parents may stay with a minor child being treated in the Emergency Department as long as they don’t leave other young children alone in the lobby. Adult patients usually don’t have visitors in the treatment area unless our staff believes it’s best for the patient. Visitors may be asked to leave the treatment room while we examine or treat patients.

After diagnosis and treatment, most patients can be discharged to return home. Our staff provides patients complete documentation of the visit, along with written instructions for self-care and follow-up with their own doctor.

Patients who need additional treatment may be admitted to our hospital’s medical-surgical unit.

Patients who require more specialized care may be transferred by ambulance to a nearby trauma center. Our staff arranges the transfer and makes sure the trauma center staff has complete information about any test results, diagnosis and treatment we have already provided. Typically, transferred patients bypass the waiting room and are admitted to the referral hospital immediately.

Patients are responsible for paying for treatment in the Emergency Department at the time they receive it. Patients covered by individual or group medical policies or by Medicaid or Medicare should present their insurance cards at the front desk when they first arrive. Whether or not the patients’ insurance will cover the full cost of the treatment they receive depends on the terms of their policies.

We see all patients who visit the Emergency Department, regardless of their ability to pay. If patients can’t pay the entire bill immediately, they may be asked to pay part of the bill and work out a schedule for paying the rest of the money they owe.

If You Have a Medical Emergency in Yadkin County

Contact Yadkin County Emergency Medical Services by calling 911 or come directly to the Emergency Department any time, day or night, if any of the following medical emergencies occur:

•  Chest or upper abdominal pain or pressure

•  Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing

•  Fainting, sudden dizziness or weakness

•  Slurred speech or sudden changes in vision

•  Uncontrollable bleeding or coughing or vomiting blood

•  Head injury

•  Major burns

•  Poisoning or suspected drug overdose

•  Severe allergic reaction to an insect bite, medication or food

If you need a doctor, but your condition is not an emergency, you may prefer to visit the hospital’s primary care practice next door to the Emergency Department.

Yadkin Valley Community Physicians is open weekdays between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. and sees new patients of all ages without an appointment as soon as one of the three doctors or the family nurse practitioner is available.