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Emergency Medicine and Trauma Center

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The Duke Emergency Medicine and Trauma Center provides state-of-the-art emergency care to patients and their families 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Our outstanding and diverse faculty and staff treat acutely ill and injured patients and loved ones in an environment that is safe, respectful, and conducive to their health and well-being.

The mission of emergency medicine professionals throughout Duke University Health System is to provide the most sophisticated emergency care for patients and their families. We strive to achieve this goal by:

  • Immediately treating patients determined to be in shock or suffering from acute conditions that threaten life or limb
  • Stabilizing and preventing complications in critical care patients
  • Providing patients with the appropriate analgesia needed to manage their pain
  • Delivering patient- and family-focused care in an environment that is safe, respectful, and conducive to health and well-being
  • Working with patients and families to develop timely, appropriate, and cost-effective care plans that adhere to emergency medicine standards of practice

Emergency Department

Each year, the board-certified physicians in Duke’s Emergency Department (ED) treat more than 60,000 patients from Durham, Wake, and Orange Counties and surrounding areas.

All three EDs in the Duke University Health System are fully staffed by emergency medicine physicians, nurses, and related medical personnel.

Specialized Care Units

Patients arrive at the Emergency Department with illnesses and injuries that range from fairly minor to potentially fatal.

Those suffering from acute physical or mental health emergencies, who are unstable, or who have life-threatening illnesses or injuries are immediately placed in the appropriate treatment unit -- Adult Emergent Care for patients older than 21 or Pediatric Emergent Care for patients younger than 21.

There, multidisciplinary teams conduct emergency evaluations, and perform the necessary resuscitation, stabilization, treatment, and/or post-resuscitation critical care.

Patients who come to the Emergency Department with less critical medical conditions are evaluated and prioritized by emergency care nurses. Patients are monitored until they are seen by a physician, who treats them and determines an appropriate plan of care. All care is delivered under the supervision of an attending physician.

The Emergency Department at Duke University Hospital also offers a dedicated unit for victims of sexual assault, while the Duke Raleigh Hospital ED includes a specially appointed cardiac unit.

What to Expect During Your Visit

Emergency department environments are continually changing, and Duke’s Emergency Medicine and Trauma Center can assume many personalities throughout a single day. Sometimes it is quiet and steady as patients come through with minor illnesses and injuries. Other times, our facilities are alive with action as emergency care experts pull critically ill or injured patients from ambulances -- and try desperately to save lives.

Regardless of the moment or the intensity of the situations we face, Duke Medicine’s three emergency departments are always open, and the professionals who work in them are prepared for all types of emergencies.

Here’s what you typically can expect during a visit to the ED:

  • Like emergency departments around the nation, the Duke Emergency and Trauma Center experiences overcrowding. We do our best to treat patients as soon as possible, but sometimes there is a wait.

    Patients should understand that because our goal is to treat every patient as quickly as possible, we work as quickly as we can without compromising our level of care.
  • Patients who do not require immediate action from a physician are typically first sent to triage, where nurses evaluate their vital signs, and their conditions are prioritized. If a bed is available, the patient is moved to a room at that time.

    Patients are seen by triage nurses in the order in which they arrive, unless another patient arrives who needs more urgent evaluation and treatment.
  • Visitors are allowed to be with ED patients, unless our staff identifies an important reason indicating that visitors are not advisable. Once patients are in the treatment area, they may ask their nurse to bring their visitors to that area.
  • After obtaining information about a patient, the emergency physician conducts a physical examination to determine an appropriate diagnosis. If a diagnosis cannot be formulated from the examination and other available information, the physician orders diagnostic tests. In difficult cases, the physician may consult with other specialists to determine an appropriate diagnosis and further course of action.
  • Patients are cared for by both nurses and physician team members. Because Duke is a prominent academic medical center -- and many residents spend a portion of their training in the ED -- patients are seen by both resident and attending physicians. They may also be seen by a physician assistant or nurse practitioner.

Trauma Center

One of only several Level 1 Trauma Centers in North Carolina, Duke University Hospital’s Trauma Center opened in 1975 with the goal of improving the medical care of patients with critical and/or multi-system injuries.

Since that time, the center has greatly expanded its size and scope of services, and our trauma physicians now admit some 1,500 patients from around the region to Duke University Hospital each year.

Our mission is to provide, within an organized framework, the most advanced, compassionate care available to seriously injured patients -- from pre-hospital through rehabilitation. Patient care is a coordinated effort between Duke’s surgery, nursing, and ancillary services, and we strive to deliver it efficiently and seamlessly, using the most current knowledge, in our effort to save lives.

In addition to conducting research aimed at increasing survival rates and limiting disabilities in trauma patients, we are dedicated to creating a safer community by helping to prevent injuries due to violence and other means.

Physicians

Physicians offering this service include:

Locations

This service is available at:

About This Page

Published: July 18, 2007
Updated: July 18, 2007
URL: http://www.dukehealth.org/Services/Emergency/Programs/EmergencyMedicineAndTraumaCenter