Emergency Services

Port Huron Hospital, the area’s largest and most comprehensive provider of emergency services, opened its new and improved Emergency Center in January of 2005.

View Photos of the Emergency Center

In addition to its specialization in cardiac and pediatric care, the Port Huron Hospital Emergency Center continues to offer the following services:

• Emergency diagnostic tests
• 24-hour, in-house anesthesia services
• Pharmacist in-house 24 hours
• Pediatric emergency services, special equipment
• Interventional cardiology (cardiac catheter testing, stents and angioplasty) and cardiovascular surgery
• 24-hour emergency psychiatric assessment services
• Special private treatment area for women and children suffering from domestic violence, rape or assault
• Helicopter access for emergency transfers
• 24-hour spiritual care and support

The Emergency Center was expanded to 20,000 square feet – double the size of the previous department. It features 24 private treatment rooms, bedside registration and a serene, calming, natural-light environment. There also is a separate area specifically designed for children, adjacent to the main family lounge area.

Numerous technological advancements have been incorporated into the Emergency Center, including an electronic patient tracking board, convenient in-department x-ray equipment and online computer access to patient information for Emergency Center and consulting physicians.

"Port Huron Hospital has an obligation to maintain state-of-the-art facilities and services," says Brian Connolly, president and CEO of the hospital. "With more than 38,000 visits to our Emergency Center annually, we wanted to be sure that everything was in place -- facilities, new processes, technologies and staffing -- before we celebrated the opening of our new and improved Emergency Center. The most important objective of our new Emergency Center is to offer faster, more efficient patient-focused care,” he says. “To that end, we have added staff -- including doctors, nurses and aides -- to our already superior group of clinical staff. This ensures that our patients receive timely, first-class care, especially during our peak hours.”

Another distinguishing characteristic of the new Emergency Center is the “nurse-first” approach Port Huron Hospital is using. When patients enter the Emergency Center, they are immediately greeted and assessed by a registered nurse. They are taken to a private room as quickly as possible, where bedside registration begins. Treatment and progress are continuously monitored by Emergency Center personnel, via the new patient tracking board.

“The tracking board is an essential part of our department,” says Paul Britz, Emergency Services nurse manager. “The system facilitates immediate access to a patient's status by any Emergency staff member, anywhere in the department, at any time during the patient's stay in the center. This begins with electronic check-in/registration of the patient and continues as caregivers electronically log progress, test results and treatment. This constant availability of information helps us achieve our goal of reducing delays and turnaround time, while at the same time monitoring each patient's progress through every step of the diagnosis and treatment process. Patients and their families spend less time waiting and more time receiving personal, professional, patient-focused care.”

Construction on the new Emergency Center began in October, 2002. The architect and general contractor were Wolf Weinman of Farmington Hills and George McIntosh, Inc., of Ferndale with the majority of suppliers and trades people from St. Clair County. The project cost approximately $7 million, with funding coming from operations, community support and Federal appropriations/grants.

Port Huron Hospital has received the Michigan Governor’s Award for Excellence for Improving Care in the Emergency Center. The award recognizes exceptional quality improvement activities in the treatment of acute myocardial infarction (heart attack) and pneumonia.

Port Huron Hospital is a 186-bed, not-for-profit regional medical center that provides a full spectrum of inpatient and outpatient healthcare services to residents in St. Clair and Sanilac Counties. Among hospital services are specialized centers including the Women's Wellness Place, Port Huron Hospital Physical Therapy, Port Huron Hospital LAP-BAND® Center of Michigan, Port Huron Hospital Wound Healing Center and Port Huron Hospital Outpatient Counseling. Port Huron Hospital is part of a larger system, Blue Water Health Services, which also includes Port Huron Hospital Industrial Health; Port Huron Hospital Medical Equipment; Port Huron Hospital Pharmacy Place; Marwood Nursing & Rehab; Port Huron Hospital Foundation and community health centers in Capac, Lexington, Marysville and Yale.