Emergency care
Emergency care is the treatment of unexpected, severe medical injuries or infections. It is typically delivered in an emergency room or an ambulance. Our emergency medicine physicians stabilize your condition as quickly as possible to prepare you for the next step of care or discharge.
Emergency room (ER) in Sun Center City, Florida
When the unexpected occurs and you or someone you love experiences an emergency, you can count on HCA Florida South Shore Hospital to provide the care you need.
Our emergency doctors are standing by to provide high-quality emergency care in the South County, Florida, community, 24/7. Our emergency room is equipped to treat a variety of medical emergencies, including heart attack and stroke. Together, we'll work to help you heal.
Emergency conditions we treat
Some of the most common emergency conditions we treat include:
- Abdominal pain
- Asthma attacks
- Bleeding
- Breathing problems
- Burns
- Flu and flu-related complications
- Heart conditions, including heart attacks
- High fevers
- Injuries
- Sepsis
- Stroke
- Trauma
- Wounds
- Other chronic, severe medical conditions
Advanced emergency care for any situation
We are committed to providing each and every person with timely and effective emergency care. On average, we treat more than 27,000 medical emergencies per year, making us highly experienced at taking care of your needs during a medical crisis. Our emergency care includes:
Stroke care
Our commitment to excellent stroke treatment has been recognized by The Joint Commission through our designation as an Advanced Primary Stroke Center. This means your can rely on us to provide the expert, lifesaving care you need in the event of a stroke.
We encourage you or your loved ones to seek immediate emergency medical care as soon as signs of stroke appear. Immediate treatment is important because fast care decreases the likelihood of long-term, stroke-related disability.
Heart attack treatment
Specialists from our cardiology program are available 24/7 to collaborate in the emergency treatment of people experiencing heart attacks and coronary events.
A heart attack occurs when blood is prevented from reaching the heart, usually because of a clot. The longer a heart attack goes untreated, the more damage occurs.
Because of this, it is important to seek care if you experience any of the following symptoms:
- Chest discomfort (this can include any kind of uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain that lasts for more than a few minutes or that goes away and comes back)
- Discomfort in the upper body (this can include pain or discomfort in one or both arms, back, neck, jaw or stomach)
- Indigestion or gastric fullness that is not relieved by antacids
- Shortness of breath
- Cold sweats, nausea or becoming suddenly light-headed
Our emergency room wait times
When it comes to emergency care, our goal is to continually work toward enhancing the care you receive, while reducing our wait times. This ensures you get the care you need, when you need it most.
Our wait times are updated every 30 minutes and are available on our website and digital screens on roadside billboards throughout the region.
To find out the wait times of the HCA Florida emergency room nearest to you, check the top of our website or text "ER" to 32222.
Note: Message and data rates may apply. Emergency room wait times are approximate and provided for informational purposes only.When to go to the emergency room
We understand it can be hard to know what type of medical care you need, like whether you should go to the emergency room or wait for your doctor's office to open.
However, we want you to feel secure about your choice for care, which is why we've created a list of symptoms that may indicate you need to visit the emergency room:
- Back pain, when it is unbearable or accompanied by fever, numbness, weakness, confusion, slurred speech, vision loss or loss of control over bladder or bowels
- Broken bones, when the pain is severe or there is a visible deformity
- Chest pain, when it is crushing or squeezing and accompanied by other heart attack symptoms, such as shortness of breath or nausea
- Concussion, when you have lost consciousness, even briefly, or experience amnesia, vomiting, slurred speech or a seizure
- Flu, when symptoms become severe, such as having trouble breathing, vomiting uncontrollably or becoming dehydrated
- Side pain, when it is severe and occurs in the lower right stomach, side or back or is accompanied by fever, nausea, diarrhea or blood in the urine
- Stomach pain, when accompanied by a hard or tender stomach, nausea, shortness of breath, fever or irregular heartbeat
- Trouble breathing, when breathing stops, is noisy or high-pitched and comes with pain in the chest or severe shortness of breath
If you are unsure if your symptoms require an emergency room visit, you can speak to a nurse 24/7 by calling our Consult-A-Nurse® team at (888) 685-1599.
What to expect at the emergency room
When you get to the emergency room, one of our triage nurses will assess your symptoms and vital signs. Next, a registration clerk will collect your insurance card (if available) and other information.
We medically screen, evaluate and stabilize all patients — whether or not they have insurance or are able to pay.
Anyone who has severe, life-threatening illnesses or injuries will be treated first. Everyone else will be treated in the order they arrive.
Before discharge, we encourage you to ask our emergency care teams any questions you have. It is also useful for you to keep all of your paperwork, discharge information and medicines or prescriptions together after you leave the emergency room.
After discharge, our emergency department staff will reach out to your primary care provider to ensure they are updated on your care.
What to bring to the emergency room
When coming to the emergency room, we recommend you bring:
- A list of medicines you currently take
- A list of known allergies
- Copies of results from recent medical tests, if available
- Personal care preferences and restrictions
- A responsible adult or phone number for someone to contact
Looking for another location?
Our Emergency care Locations
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