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 In an Emergency, Call 9-1-1
St. Vincent's emergency department treats over 64,000 patients each year. Our mission to deliver highly competent and dignified care to all patients who come to us for care. We treat every type of acute medical and surgical condition in people of all ages. As one of only five Regional Trauma Centers in Manhattan and the only one south of 114th Street on the west side, we are the major emergency care resource for millions of residents, workers, and visitors to lower Manhattan. Click here to read about the current renovations to the emergency department that willl provide increased comfort and privacy for patients.
Click here for our spring 2009 Village Health News featuring an article on our current Emergency Department renovation.
Care for the Most Critical Conditions
Staffed by physicians who are trained and board certified in Emergency Medicine -- who have completed residency training programs at some of the finest institutions in the country - we are highly qualified to identify and treat the most serious illnesses and injuries. We are a designated stroke, heart attack, hypothermia/cardiac arrest and Regional Trauma Center. Our Regional Trauma designation -- the highest available -- granted to us by New York State, indicates that our surgeons, board certified in cardiac surgery, neurosurgery and other specialties and subspecialties, are available within minutes to care for the most severely injured or sick patients. We are specially equipped and designated by the city to deliver the highest quality of care to our patients experiencing heart attacks, cardiac arrest and acute strokes. We routinely treat the most critical conditions at a moment's notice and have served as the front line response to many of our city's worst disasters.
What to Expect at the ED
Although,like most emergency departments, we are busy and can seem hectic, providing high quality, dignified and effective care is our mission. We will attempt to evaluate and treat you as soon as possible, although there may be a wait so we can care for the sickest patients first. Soon after you will arrive you will be seen by a triage nurse, who by using clinical and scientific criteria, will determine your immediate needs. You will also see a registration specialist who will obtain very basic information (name, date of birth and previous visits) in order to place you in our computer system. the registrar will usually see you later to obtain further information, but initially, we just require very basic data. As we are fully computerized, this will allow us to order diagnostic tests and medications as well as track your course in the department.
As soon as your are placed in a treatment area, you will be seen by an emergency physician and nurse. Our main area and Fast Track also have physician assistants who are trained and highly competent in emergency medical care.. All adult treatment in the ED is under the direction of an emergency physician. Depending on your needs, a technician may also see you and obtain blood or an EKG. As we work as a team, this may also be done by another member of your health care team.
 Once you have been evaluated and, if necessary, tests are ordered, you may have a waiting period of up to several hours. This is for tests to be run, x-rays and CTs to be performed and for the doctor to confirm a diagnosis. Some test, such as x-rays, may take place in the department and be performed rapidly. Others require preparation and may take a while. We are able, however, to obtain a large amount of information in a relatively short period of time in order to provide an accurate diagnosis, or as important, exclude a serious medical condition.
If at any time you have a question about your care, please feel free to ask the doctor or nurse. We try to expedite care as quick as possible; however, we are committed to spending the proper amount of time with every patient and obtaining necessary tests.
After all the results of your tests have been obtained, the doctors will decide whether or not you need to stay in the hospital. They will discuss this with you and your regular doctor. If you are discharged, we recommend a follow up appointment with your doctor or a referral for every patient. It is important that you provide us with the right contact information, as all after hour x-rays have at least two readings and blood and other cultures may take several days to have a result.
What is Triage?
Triage is the process through which we determine the order in which we see patients. Because the sickest and most severely injured need help right away, they are seen immediately. People with less serious conditions, who are in less medical danger, may wait longer. Depending upon your condition, our triage nurse may have someone see you immediately, ask you to wait until you are called, or ask you to go to our Fast Track area.
Our Emergency Care Team
Our team consists of our doctors, emergency nurses and emergency technicians. They work together to streamline your care, provide for your needs and treat your illness. We also work closely with many of the other services in the hospital, and, if necessary, can obtain consultation for particularly complex cases. In addition, we have social workers dedicated to the emergency department as we understand that many of our patients have needs that impact upon their acute illness.
 Fast Track -- For Minor Illnesses and Injuries -If your illness or injury is not too serious, such as a sore throat or a sprained ankle, you may be sent to our Fast Track - a service that focuses providing fast and accurate care with the minimum waiting time. By restricting the area to minor illness it can reduce your waiting time. Along with high quality medical care, Fast Track offers comfort and convenience, such as private cubicles, bedside registration, telephones and a radiology suite for faster results. Our Fast Track area is operational from 8:00 a.m. until midnight, weekdays, and from 11:00 a.m. until midnight on weekends. No appointment is necessary.
Institute of Emergency Care
Our own, state-of-the-art paramedic ambulances, operating through the New York City 911 EMS system, provide 24-hour coverage to the Lower Manhattan area, and our Institute of Emergency Care is the oldest continuously operating EMS training center in the New York City region, graduating some 600 paramedics and thousands of Emergency Medical Technicians who currently serve throughout the city.
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