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When should you come to the Emergency Department?
* If your child is having a life-threatening emergency, call 9-1-1 immediately. * Your child's physician can usually assist you as well. If your child condition is not acutely life-threatening, call your child's doctor's office for advice. Most have advice available 24 hours/day. * Is it a Medical Emergency? provides guidelines to help answer this question. * If your child has swallowed a suspected poison or dangerous drug, call the California Poison Control system, at 1-800-222-1222 for instructions, even if your child has no signs or symptoms. Immediate action may be life-saving! Be ready to provide your child's age, weight, and previous health conditions. Also, give a description of the substance involved, amount taken, and time that it happened. Should you call an ambulance or drive? If you answer "yes" to any of the following questions, choose ambulance transportation: * Could traffic conditions cause an unacceptable delay? * Is it possible your child's condition could get worse on the way to the hospital? * Is your child: o having difficulty breathing? o bleeding heavily? o unconscious or exhibiting uncontrollable agitation? o having seizures? o showing signs of a head, neck, or back injury? o showing signs of poor circulation, including pale, cold, clammy skin and a weak and rapid pulse? * Could your child have significant injuries you cannot see? * Could your concern for your child affect your ability to drive safely? What should you bring? Parents are encouraged to bring the following items to ensure efficiency and accuracy when coming to the Emergency Care Center: * Your child's immunization history * Your child's primary physician's name and phone number * Information about any chronic illness or condition your child may have * X-rays or lab test results from other hospitals or clinics relating to the child's current illness (if easily available) What should you expect during your visit to the Emergency Department? Triage Triage is the process of evaluating the seriousness of your child's illness or injury. When you first arrive, you and your child will be seen by the triage nurse who is specially trained to take care of children in the Emergency Care Center. This registered nurse will ask you questions about your child's illness or injury, check your child's temperature and weight, and briefly examine your child. It is important to give all the needed information to the triage nurse. If your child has a life-threatening or very serious illness or injury, he or she will be seen by a doctor with the nurse right away. Before you arrive to the Emergency Care Center, your child's primary care provider may have called to tell us about your child and his or her condition. Waiting Area You may be asked to stay in the waiting area until an exam room or doctor is available to see your child. Please understand that patients may not be seen in the order of their arrival to the Emergency Department. Patients with the most serious illnesses and injuries will be given priority. A family liaison is available to offer activities, answer questions, and help keep you informed. Feel free to ask a nurse if he/she can give your child something fun to do; we have many toys, books and videos available. While you are in the waiting area, please do not to give your child anything to eat or drink without checking with the triage nurse first. If you notice that your child is getting sicker or is in more pain, tell the triage nurse right away. Examination As soon as possible, you and your child will be brought into an exam room. A team of doctors and nurses will care for your child. Your child may be evaluated by more than one doctor. Your child may be initially seen by a resident physician or medical student, who are in training to care for children. Your child will also be seen by an attending physician, who is a medical doctor who is trained to care for children with emergencies. The attending physician supervises the care of your child. Depending on your child's condition, your doctor may order a blood test, x-rays, or other tests to help determine what is wrong with your child. Each test will be fully explained to you before it is performed. A top priority in our Emergency Care Center is to make sure each child is as comfortable as possible, and to rapidly assess and treat pain. If your child is in any pain, please make sure a doctor or nurse is notified so that the proper medication can be given. Discharge When your child's care is complete, the doctor or nurse will give you instructions on how to care for your child's illness or injury. They will also tell you about follow-up care. If you have any questions after you leave, call the Emergency Care Center at (858) 966-8800 or you may also call your child's primary care provider. Admission to the Hospital Your doctors may decide that your child needs to stay in the hospital longer for further observation, tests or treatment. Arrangements will be made for your child to be moved to an inpatient bed in the appropriate location as soon as possible. EMERGENCY ACTION FOR POISONING FIRST STEPS AFTER AN ACCIDENTAL EXPOSURE What Do I Do? Remain calm. * REMAIN CALM * For UNCONSCIOUS patients, CONVULSIONS, or any DIFFICULTY BREATHING, call 9-1-1. * Otherwise call the Poison Control Center TOLL FREE NUMBER. Information the Poison Center Specialist Will Need * AGE and WEIGHT of the person. * WHAT was ingested. Have the bottle or container with you. * HOW MUCH was taken. This will help the Poison Center Specialist determine the severity of the incident. * HOW the victim is feeling or acting right now. * Your NAME and PHONE number. EYE - Flood the eye with lukewarm water Repeat for 15 minutes. Encourage patient to blink while flushing the eye. Do not force the eyelid open. SWALLOWED MEDICINE - Do not give anything by mouth until calling for advice CHEMICAL OR HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS - Unless patient is unconscious, having convulsions, or cannot swallow - give a small amount of water. Then call for professional advice to find out if patient should be made to vomit. Do NOT induce vomiting unless recommended by your physician or the Poison Center. INHALED - Immediately get patient to fresh air. Avoid breathing fumes. Open doors and windows. If victim is not breathing, call for help and start assisted (mouth-to-mouth) breathing. SKIN - Remove contaminated clothing and flood skin with water for 15 minutes. Then wash gently with soap and water and rinse. |