Pen Bay Medical Center
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Emergency Care

Our emergency department (ED) is open 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. The ED has 12 beds and a staff of physicians, registered professional nurses and emergency care technicians. We treat patients from infancy through adulthood, no matter what the illness or injury. Our staff will not refuse treatment to anyone, regardless of their ability to pay for services.

Emergencies

In case of an emergency please dial 911.

When you first arrive in the ED, a receptionist will notify the triage nurse and ask for your name and date of birth. If you are already receiving care or are otherwise unable to answer these questions, we will ask a family member or friend to provide this information. A trained triage nurse will assess the severity of your injury or illness. He or she will ask you why you came to the ED, what medical problems you have, what medications you are taking and if you are allergic to anything. The triage nurse will also take your temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure, and will ask you to rate any pain you are experiencing on a scale of 0 to 10. He or she may also initiate lab and or X-ray exams.

After your assessment, the triage nurse will assign you to a category that will determine when you can be seen. If you do not need immediate treatment, please be patient. The most seriously ill or injured must be seen first, so you may see people who arrived after you receive treatment before you. As soon as possible, you will be taken from the waiting room to an exam room for examination and treatment by an emergency physician.

The physician will create a plan of care that could include medication, diagnostic tests or IVs while you are here. Your primary nurse will initiate care. If necessary, specialists are on call to provide specific services. Based on the assessment and the results of diagnostic tests, you may be admitted to the hospital or discharged with written instructions for you to follow.

The ED will inform your Primary Care Physician about your visit. We communicate electronically, which means your test results and documentation are quickly available to any physicians you may visit for follow-up care.

Our ED physicians have special training in emergency care and are board-certified in emergency medicine and family practice. Many specialists are available to assess patients at the request of the ED physician. These include specialists in cardiology, orthopedics, general surgery, ophthalmology, urology, OB/GYN, radiology, oncology and neurology. Our ED nurses are all registered professionals with extensive training and experience in emergency care. Our emergency care technicians are trained to recognize critical patient signs and symptoms, do EKGs, draw blood and conduct other bedside diagnostic tests.

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