Emergency Care Services at St. Joseph’s/Candler
The emergency departments at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Candler Hospital are staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with highly trained and credentialed emergency staff, with specialists on call for consultation.
Our emergency room physicians are board certified and trained in emergency medicine; our expert nursing staff is credentialed in basic, advanced and pediatric life support; while our well-trained ancillary staff is proficient in basic life support.
St. Joseph’s Hospital Emergency Department
St. Joseph’s Hospital ED is a 32-bed facility that not only handles general health-related complaints and emergencies, but offers specialized services for cardiac, neurological, respiratory and orthopedic emergencies. Our ED has an air-ambulance helipad should there be a need to transport a critically ill or high-level trauma patient after stabilization.
Ambulatory patients with less acute illnesses and injuries, such as sprains, sore throats and cuts, may be seen quickly in our Fast Track.
The ED at St. Joseph's Hospital is a certified stroke center, chest pain center and the hub for our stroke telemedicine service, Stroke NET-work.
11705 Mercy Boulevard (facing Abercorn Street)
Phone: (912) 819-2419
Fax: (912) 819-2127
Candler Hospital Emergency Department
Candler Hospital's ED is a 40-bed facility that offers comprehensive care for general health-related complaints and emergencies with specialized services for respiratory, complex medical, orthopedic and pediatric emergencies. Ambulatory patients with less acute illnesses and injuries, such as sprains, sore throats and cuts/abrasions, may be seen quickly in our PromptCare.
5353 Reynolds Street (facing DeRenne Avenue)
Phone: (912) 819-6037
Fax: (912) 819-2037
Services offered
We provide the highest quality of full-service emergency care on both hospital campuses, 24 hours a day. We offer the full spectrum of care including:
- Neurological
- Orthopedic
- Cardiac
- Gynecological
- Pediatric
- Pulmonary
- Gastrointestinal
- Other emergencies
Each emergency center includes treatment rooms dedicated and equipped for trauma, pediatric, orthopedic, psychiatric and isolation patients. The emergency centers feature wireless technologies, mobile X-ray equipment, ultrasounds, EKG, echocardiogram, point-of-care testing, a sophisticated drug-dispensing system and other technologies that speed accurate diagnosis and safe treatment for our patients. Decontamination facilities allow us to provide appropriate care for patients exposed to toxic chemicals.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are patients not seen on a “first-come, first serve” basis?
Each patient’s case is different, but most patients are greeted by a GRASP nurse upon arrival. GRASP stands for Greet, Reassure/Receive, Assess, Sort and Prioritize. The GRASP nurse greets arriving patients and determines the level of acuity and placement within the emergency department. The GRASP nurse is an experienced, registered nurse.
The GRASP nurse is just one member of a team of emergency department staff that help make sure a patient gets to a room as quickly as possible. After a patient sees a GRASP nurse, a navigator (typically an employed EMT or paramedic) will take the patient back to his or her assigned room as the rooms become available where a PCT is waiting to prep the patient and begin vitals. A triage nurse also will be present to assess the patient and make sure everything that can be done is ready when the physician arrives.
What is triage?
St. Joseph’s Hospital and Candler Hospital emergency departments follow a triage process. Triage is the process of determining the priority of a patient’s treatment based on the severity of his or her condition. Specially trained nurses sort emergencies based on their condition. Patients are sorted by an acuity system of rankings 1 to 5 with 1 being someone who isn’t breathing or doesn’t have a heart rate to 5 being someone who just came in for a prescription. This acuity system helps determines how patients are seen in a safe and timely manner.
May I see my own doctor in the emergency department?
The ED physician is responsible for the care of all patients arriving to the ED and ensuring that patients are seen in a timely manner with the appropriate emergency treatment based on specialized emergency medicine training and experience. You may request your own physician to be contacted for treatment, if you choose. If your physician is a member of the hospital medical staff, an attempt will be made to contact him or her.
Why do nurse practitioners (NP) or physicians' assistants (PA) see some patients when a doctor is always there?
NPs and PAs have received extensive education and experience under the supervision of the ED physician. Utilizing NPs and PAs ensures that patients are seen and treated more quickly. The emergency physician oversees all patients in the ED.
Can I bring my family with me to the emergency department?
We recognize that family support is critical during a time of illness or accident, and visitors are allowed based on the condition of the patient. Due to the large volume of patients being cared for in the ED at a given time and the need to protect privacy, visitors may be limited at the discretion of the nurse or physician. Parents should accompany children under the age of 12.