Life can often bring accidents and unexpected emergencies. A simple trip to the grocery store – even a quick jog around the block – can end up as an unanticipated trip to the Emergency Room (ER). Whatever the nature of the situation, getting fast, compassionate and high quality care is always of the utmost importance. The trained professionals in the Emergency Room at Danville Regional Medical Center (DRMC) stand ready to provide help when you need it most. Their purpose in life is to save yours.
Millions of lives are saved each day in Emergency Room’s (ER’s) across the country. Doctors, nurses and other highly trained healthcare professionals provide emergent and urgent care to seriously ill and injured adults and children every second of every minute. And while visiting an ER may often provide the quickest access to treatment, numerous factors can affect the actual time in which care is received, such as the number of critically ill patient’s needing and receiving care. The ER at Danville Regional is constantly seeking ways of enhancing the care it provides and is on a mission to change the way emergency care is delivered to the people of the Dan River Region.
“It is really an exciting time to be a part of this team,” says Meredith Sutton, Clinical Manager in DRMC’s Emergency Room. “I’m most proud that our team who are truly committed to implementing the changes and process improvements needed in moving our ER towards becoming the most efficient and effective ER anywhere. Healthcare is an ever-changing environment. It’s important to be able to adapt and act quickly.”
Over the last two years, Danville Regional has recruited tremendously talented individuals to care for patients in its emergency room. Leading the ER team is Dr. Ian Greenwald, Medical Director – a board certified emergency medicine physician who is a previous faculty member and employee of Duke University Health System; and Anne Mills, Clinical Director of the Emergency Room, who returned to Danville Regional after having established a successful emergency room at a nearby hospital in North Carolina. Within a few minutes of speaking to Dr. Greenwald, Anne and Meredith, it’s easy to see that patients seeking care in DRMC’s ER are in good hands.
“We have a great staff of professionals who love what they do in the Emergency Room,” says Anne. “We hire people for their skills, passion for Emergency Medicine, and concern for others. These three attributes equate to an exceptional experience for our patients. We want our patients to feel assured and know that they are in the best hands possible and will be well taken care of.”
When it comes to excellent care, recent process improvements have truly enhanced the quality of care available at Danville Regional’s ER. “We have an excellent and very collaborative relationship with Duke University Health System,” Dr. Greenwald says. “We’re very focused on a wide spectrum of cardiovascular emergencies: whether to treat heart attacks, strokes, or to support any of our cardiothoracic surgeons. Danville Regional has a 24/7 STEMI activation program for our cardiac catheterization lab for acute heart attacks. This is a huge resource for the community and vitally important to someone who’s experiencing a heart attack or chest pains.”
When a medical emergency occurs, time and teamwork are crucial. To ensure that every patient receives prompt and appropriate care, a team leader is assigned to coordinate each patient’s care. Karen Terry, registered nurse (RN), is one of the six team leaders in the emergency room at Danville Regional. She is the point person for each individual patient’s needs. “When it comes to providing care for critical and emergent health needs, we are at the top of our game. We save lives and we make a difference every day.”
For the ER to run efficiently, it requires a tremendous amount of teamwork. Barbara Levchak is a registered nurse in the ER. “One of the greatest strengths of our emergency room team is teamwork. We don’t let our patients down and we don’t let each other down.”