Emergency Department
In the health care world, it's often said that the Emergency Department is the "front door" of a hospital.If this is the case, those who walk through University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics' front door through its Emergency Department will enter a warm, soothing environment offering the privacy, state-of-the-art technology and first-rate staff that are so critical to patients and families during times of dire medical need.
Privacy for Patients and Families
Privacy for Patients and Families
UW Hospital's 26,000-square-foot Emergency Department opened in June 2006, designed to meet the critical medical needs of emergency patients while attending to privacy needs for both patients and their families.
The Emergency Department features 29 private patient rooms as well as multiple triage rooms to help ensure patient confidentiality. Comfortable, private waiting rooms allow families to gather in comfort while awaiting word about their loved ones.
The new department can accommodate up to 45,000 patients and may greatly reduce the time patients spend awaiting care.
Comforting Environment
UW Hospital's Emergency Department also includes two large waiting rooms - one for adult patients and another catered to the needs of children and their families.The pediatric area is complete with warm, muted lighting, colorful tree murals on the walls and a game station where children can play.
With a patient-friendly design, the new department is equipped to help soothe patients and families during such times of need.
With a patient-friendly design, the new department is equipped to help soothe patients and families during such times of need.
In the children's area, harsh lights are covered by panels painted with trees, and soft chairs in the waiting area are covered with cow prints to complement the "north woods" murals on the walls. Combined, these features create a calming, relaxing environment to help ease what can be a traumatic experience for children.
Emphasis on Technology
If the Emergency Department is indeed the "front door" to the hospital, it offers not only a comfortable, private, soothing and healing environment.At UW Hospital, this type of environment converges with a professional staff and the very best technologies. Additional features in our Emergency Department include:
- An on-site 64-slice CT scanner in the radiology suite, which allows for faster diagnosis of trauma and heart patients
- A state-of-the-art decontamination area designed to handle biohazard and bioterrorism emergencies
- Pediatric and adult trauma rooms equipped with the latest in critical care equipment
- An on-site pharmacy
Further helping patients to access emergency care, the new UW Med Flight facility on the hospital's roof allows for continued growth of Wisconsin's busiest air medical service.