Emergency Center > Emergencies > What To Expect

What to expect

Emergency situations can be unsettling. Some uncertainties can be addressed simply by understanding what will happen when you arrive at Park Nicollet Methodist Hospital Emergency Center.

Triage

The first medical professional you will see is a triage nurse. The triage nurse will complete an assessment based on your vital signs, medical complaints, information about past medical problems and allergies. The triage nurse’s task is to ensure that patients with urgent medical conditions are attended to promptly.

Patients with life-threatening conditions always are seen first by emergency medicine doctors. Overall wait times to be treated vary, depending on the urgency of your medical condition, the volume of emergency patients and the number and complexity of tests required for diagnosis and treatment. We hope you will understand that patients with more urgent needs must be seen before those with less urgent needs.

Diagnosis and treatment

Once you are moved to a treatment area, a medical team is assigned to your care. An emergency medicine doctor, primary care nurse and technician make up the team. Your emergency medicine doctor performs evaluations, orders tests, makes a diagnosis, begins treatment and consults your personal doctor when necessary. Once you are stabilized, a decision is made to admit you to Methodist Hospital, transfer you to another facility due to special medical needs, or send you home with discharge instructions.

Inpatient care

If it is necessary to admit you to the hospital, we will contact your personal doctor or transfer you to the care of one of our doctors. Our goal is to move you to an inpatient bed as soon as possible to address your ongoing care and comfort.

Discharge

When you are discharged, an emergency center doctor or nurse will review with you written discharge instructions. You also may receive a prescription for medications, which may be filled in one of our Pharmacy @ Park Nicollet locations at the hospital.

Billing

Note that you or your insurance company may receive separate bills from the hospital and any provider involved in your care, such as an emergency doctor or radiologist.