Welcome to the Emergency Department at East Cooper Regional Medical Center.

We are here for you 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. This information will help you understand what happens when you come to the Emergency Department (ED) for treatment.

Upon arrival, please let the admitting clerk at the registration desk know you wish to be seen. To protect your privacy it is not necessary to give detailed health information. The clerk will send you to the triage room where a Registered Nurse will obtain your vital signs, gather information about your symptoms or injury, and obtain your past medical history. It is very important for you or a family member to know your allergies and the medications you are taking.

Depending on your condition, you will be sent to the registration desk or brought to the patient care area. This procedure makes sure that the most seriously ill patients are seen by the physician first and is the reason some patients may be seen out of order of arrival.   We will make every effort to see you as quickly as possible.

In the patient care area our board-certified emergency physician will examine you and order the appropriate treatment. Please understand that if labs or x-rays are ordered, the results take time.

Family members may come in the patient care area to visit, but please limit to 2 visitors at a time. Visitors must remain at your bedside while in the patient care area. This helps maintain the privacy of other patients.  A primary concern of the ED is the safety of our patients, visitors and staff. Anyone under the influence of drugs, alcohol, or violent behavior will not be allowed in the patient care area.

Once treatment has been completed we will give you instructions for follow up treatment, including the name of specialists if indicated. It is very important that you follow these instructions so that you can continue to improve.  If the ED physician determines admission to the hospital is necessary he will contact your personal physician, if you don’t have one he will obtain an admitting physician for you.

The ED staff knows that no one wants to be a patient in the Emergency Department.  At East Cooper Regional Medical Center, we care about your concerns. Please feel free to contact Theresa Lynn, Director of the ED, at 881-0100 if you have further questions or concerns.