Emergency Department

1-Red
Evergreen Hospital Medical Center

PROFILE
The Emergency Department is a designated Level 4 Trauma Center. This new, state-of-the-art facility opened in May 2007. The main ED has 32 beds - 28 acute care and 4 trauma rooms. A 10 bed Rapid Assessment area cares for less serious illness and injury.  The ED treats more than 50,000 patients per year, of which about 14% are admitted to the hospital. 

UNIT FOCUS
Providing a positive and supportive experience for our patients and families is important to us.  Staff nurses, support staff and physicians actively participate in committees and unit-based projects to enhance our practice on an ongoing basis.

PATIENT CARE DELIVERY MODEL
The patient care delivery model is a patient focused model, supported by primary nursing.  Typical nurse patient ratio is 1:3 or 1:4.

TEAM MEMBERS
Emergency Department technicians, health unit coordinators and social workers support the RN staff.  The Emergency Department educator, trauma nurse coordinator and the nurse manager support the clinical nurses in their practice. All physicians are Board certified in Emergency medicine.

SCHEDULING PRACTICES
The schedule is based on patient volumes. The scheduling process is staff driven and flexible to accommodate personal and educational needs. Once the schedule is posted, the staff manages changes with the staffing coordinator.

STAFF ORIENTATION
All staff attends a one day general hospital orientation, in addition to attending job specific training classes. Unit orientation is preceptor based and is coordinated by the nurse manager, the clinical nurse educator and the new employee. The length of the orientation is based on each individual's needs. New nursing graduates participate in the Nurse Resident program and complete an 11 week orientation program specific to the Emergency Department.

EDUCATIONAL AND DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES
Staff education and development is supported by clinical nurse educators. Skills labs are offered monthly to assess competency in key clinical skills and for completion of annual reviews. In-services offering CE credits are also offered monthly. Grand Rounds are offered on a regular basis. Staff may also access outside educational opportunities.

The ED clinical nurse educator provides educational support to staff on the nursing unit. Annual training in weapons of mass destruction and other in-services are offered throughout the year.

ED nurse residents attend a nine day ED Nurse Education course provided by the Washington Emergency Nurse Education Council as part of their resident orientation.