Patient Care
The Department of Emergency Medicine at UI Hospitals and Clinics and UI Children's Hospital provides care for the most critically ill adults and children
in a patient and family-centered atmosphere. The department handles emergency cases from
throughout Iowa and surrounding states. The multidisciplinary service
works closely with the medical and surgical departments at UI Hospitals
and Clinics and UI Children’s Hospital to optimize the care and outcomes
of patients young and old.
The department's clinical enterprise is staffed completely with board-certified emergency medicine specialists and is the only emergency room in eastern Iowa to staff board-certified pediatric specialists. Presently, the UI Department of Emergency Medicine serves as the only Level 1 Trauma Center in Iowa.
UI Hospitals and Clinics and UI Children's Hospital are part of a growing network of hospitals and clinicians utilizing electronic patient records. Department physicians are able to gain access to medical history and other important data from patient's existing electronic medical record, which can be crucial in emergency situations.
The Department of Emergency Medicine has developed a continuum of emergency care services. The most intensive
level of service involves the 35 bed emergency department
located within the UI Hospitals and Clinics. Opened in April 2008, it averages approximately 60,000 visits annually, and includes three trauma bays, two psychiatric emergency
rooms and one room dedicated to dental, ear, nose, throat or eye
emergencies. A
virtual pediatric emergency department and chest pain unit also exist within the clinical space.
Expansion
Patient care efforts continue to grow as the Department of Emergency Medicine accounts for half of all hospital admissions.
Expanded physical facilities within the department are being also being created to meet patient care needs. Additions currently under construction include four additional patient care rooms and five rooms for psychiatric evaluation. Construction on the nine room addition is expected to be completed in 2014.