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Your emergency room visit

Your emergency room visit

You may bring your child to Children's Emergency Department at any time -- without an appointment -- if your child needs immediate medical care.

If your child needs immediate medical attention and you cannot safely transport your child to the hospital, please call 911 immediately.

Arriving at the Emergency Department
When you arrive, you and your child will be seen by the triage nurse. This registered nurse is specially trained in pediatric emergency care. It is important to give all the needed information to the triage nurse. If your child has a life-threatening or very serious illness or injury, he or she will be seen by a doctor right away.

The nurse will bring you and your child to an exam room in the triage area. The nurse will ask you some questions and check your child's temperature and weight. He or she will also briefly examine your child.

During the busiest times, the sickest children are seen first. Other families are asked to wait.

Before you arrive at the Emergency Department, your child's primary care provider may have called to tell us about your child and his or her condition. The call also serves as insurance approval for the visit.

Registration
After triage, you usually go to the registration area. The secretary will ask you questions, such as your address and telephone number. It is important to give complete information. This helps us to contact you or your child's doctor about your child's care.

Insurance companies often require us to obtain approval for emergency department visits. If your child's doctor has not already called in with an approval, the secretary will need to call. These calls can take time. We ask for your patience.

We are available to treat your child even if your insurer does not approve the visit. You will be asked to pay for the bill yourself. If this is a problem or you do not have insurance, our financial counselors can help you.

Waiting Room
You will be asked to wait in the waiting room if an exam room is not available. There are some toys and a TV tuned to children's programs. A child life specialist is available during the evening to offer activities, answer questions and help keep you informed about the wait.

The triage nurse may tell you not to give your child anything to eat or drink while waiting. Please follow these instructions.

Exam Room
As soon as possible, you and your child will be brought to an exam room where a team of doctors and nurses will care for your child. There are senior doctors, called attending physicians, who supervise care in the emergency department.

If your child needs blood tests, x-rays or other tests, it may take an hour or more to get the results. Please be patient. You may be asked to return to the waiting room during this time.

A parent or guardian must stay with his or her child at all times. Two family members may stay with the child in the exam room. Other family members may stay in the waiting area.

The doctor or nurse will usually give you printed instructions when your child is ready to leave. These instructions have information on how to care for your child's illness or injury and will tell you about follow-up care.

If you have any questions after you leave, call Children's Emergency Department at 617-355-6611, or your child's primary care provider. We send a copy of the record from the visit to your child's primary care provider imediately to explain to the provider what was done for your child and what was recommended.

During your visit to the emergency department if you have questions or concerns that your child's doctor or nurse cannot answer, please ask to speak to the attending physician or charge nurse.

If your child is admitted to the hospital directly from the Emergency Department, please speak with staff from the Admitting Office and the Patient Business Office as soon as possible.

In the Admitting Office, you will be asked to sign forms that permit the hospital to perform tests and provide treatment. In the Patient Business Office, you will receive information about insurance coverage and the billing process.

If these offices are closed at the time your child is admitted, a staff member from the Emergency Department will advise you what to do.

Admitting Office
Location: Main Building, 1st Floor
Hours: Monday through Friday, 6:30 a.m. to midnight; Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, 8 a.m. to midnight
Phone: 617-355-6644

Many departments offer urgent visits daily. Your child's primary care physician often will call and request a same day appointment for certain situations. If you need to see a specialist at Children's immediately, please call your primary care physician and ask for an urgent referral to Children's.

If you are unsure about whether your child's injury or sudden illness needs emergency care, treat it as an emergency. Call 911 or your local emergency medical services immediately.


					Children's Hospital Boston is the primary pediatric teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School

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