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Florida Hospital Fish Memorial is part of the Florida Hospital network of five accredited Chest Pain Centers throughout Volusia/Flagler counties. This means our hospitals have achieved a higher level of expertise in treating patients who arrive with symptoms of a heart attack. We emphasize the importance of standardized diagnostic and treatment programs that provide more efficient and effective evaluation as well as more appropriate and rapid treatment of patients with chest pain and other heart attack symptoms. We also promote a healthier lifestyle in an attempt to reduce the risk factors for heart attack.

To learn more about our world-class Cardiac Care, please click here.

Expert Clinical Staff

At Florida Hospital Fish Memorial, we set the highest standards of care for patients in our Emergency Department. All of our physicians are Board-certified in Emergency Medicine. This additional training and experience enables doctors to give the highest level of immediate care, and also to know when it is in the patient’s best interest to coordinate a transfer. All of our registered nurses exceed standard requirements for emergency room work, and are certified in Adult Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), and Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS). Florida Hospital Fish Memorial is committed to excellence in all aspects of emergency care.

Upgraded Facilities

For your convenience, privacy and comfort, Florida Hospital Fish Memorial recently upgraded our Emergency Department waiting room and treatment bays. Regular, hourly rounding by our attentive staff also assures you and your family that you will be cared for at the highest possible level. As part of our ongoing commitment to your safety and comfort, we have also recently added 36 new private rooms on our fifth floor.
 

The Triage Process

When you first arrive, you will be “triaged” by an emergency room registered nurse. The “triage” process is an assessment of your medical condition. During triage, your vital signs will be taken and you will be asked why you came to the Emergency Department. Please be sure to tell the triage nurse if you think you might be pregnant, what medications you are currently taking, any allergies to medications that you may have, and discuss your tetanus immunization history. This information, combined with the conditions of other patients, will help Emergency Department caregivers determine how quickly you need to be seen by the emergency physician. This is where you will be assessed as either a “major” or “minor” illness or injury.

During your visit you may find that you are asked the same questions by several different staff members. We want to make sure we have received all the pertinent information to best facilitate your care. Often when people are ill or not feeling well, they may forget important medical details. The questioning is done to insure that we get all of your important medical history to better meet your medical needs.

Emergency Care Classifications

When you are triaged, the nurse will assign you a “classification” to help determine the order in which you will be taken to the treatment area. Your medical condition will be classified as either emergent, urgent or non-urgent.

Emergent Classification
This includes patients who have a potential life-threatening condition or require immediate medical attention. For those patients, a time delay could be life threatening. Emergent patients are taken immediately to the treatment area. They are often brought in through the ambulance entrance; this means we may have more patients in the treatment area than it seems from the waiting room.

Urgent Classification
This classification is given to patients who require medical attention within a period of a few hours because they face further injury or infection if they are not treated. Urgent patients are brought to the treatment area in the order of their arrival, after all Emergent patients.

Non-urgent Classification
Non-urgent patients have relatively minor conditions or ones that do not necessarily require the resources of an Emergency Department. Many non-urgent patients come to the Emergency Department in the evening or weekends when their physicians’ offices are closed. These conditions can include the flu, sore throats, fevers and the like. These patients are seen in the order of their arrival after the Emergent and Urgent patients.

After Triage

After you are triaged, you may be asked to sit in the waiting room until it is your turn to go to the treatment area. When you do go to the treatment area, please remember that the same principle applies: the order of your physician visit, lab tests, X-rays, and other procedures is determined by the seriousness of your condition as well as that of other patients. Telephones are found adjacent to the waiting room. Please do not use cellular phones inside the building.

Visitors

Some patients’ conditions or lab and X-ray testing may require that visitors wait in the waiting room so that emergency caregivers can quickly treat the patient. Visitation with emergency patients is encouraged at the staff’s discretion. The physician may ask you to step out of the room while he or she completes their exam or speaks to the patient.

If you or your family member is admitted to the hospital, the visiting hours for inpatients are from:
11 am – 8:30 pm daily and
ICU patients have 30-minute visiting intervals at 8:45 am, 12:00 pm, 5 pm and 8:45 pm

Patient’s Bill of Rights and Responsibilities

Florida law requires that your health care provider or health care facility recognizes your rights while you are receiving medical care and that you respect the health care provider’s or health care facility’s right to expect certain behavior on the part of the patient. Click here for more information.

Community Calendar

We welcome the community to participate in our support groups and meetings. Please click here to view our community calendar.

Restrooms and Telephones

You’ll find that our restrooms, telephones, vending machines and water fountains are adjacent to emergency waiting rooms. If you are waiting to be seen by the physician, please do not eat or drink anything. We encourage you to ask as many questions as possible during your visit to the Emergency Department at Florida Hospital Fish Memorial. If upon discharge you are still unsure of any matter regarding the care you received, please ask us. If you have any questions once you have arrived home about your care, please call (386) 917-5108 to speak to a nurse.

Cafeteria

The cafeteria is open to patients, visitors and employees.

Cafeteria Serving Times     
Weekdays
Breakfast  8 – 9:15 am
Lunch  11:30 am – 2 pm
Dinner  5 – 6:15 pm

Weekends
Saturday & Sunday  11:30 am – 1:30 pm