Emergency Services

Waiting to be Seen

The triage system allows patients with life-threatening problems to be seen first. If you have a minor illness or injury, you may have to wait while sicker or more severely injured patients are treated first. We strive to provide high quality care to every patient as quickly as possible.

You may have to wait:

While the sickest or most seriously injured patients are seen first.
If other local hospital are temporarily not accepting ambulances
For a specialist physician to speak with you about your condition
If a disaster occurs as we are the state's only level 1 trauma center
If the hospital's beds are full and we are awaiting discharges, you may stay longer in the Andrew F. Anderson Emergency Center. We do have additional flexible space that we may use to care for patients.

Please keep in mind that an empty waiting room doesn't mean the center staff is not busy treating patients. Patients who arrive by ambulance enter the emergency center through a different entrance, so it may appear as though there are not a lot of people receiving care when in fact, there are.

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