Upgrades at Floyd Cherokee Medical Center’s Emergency Room have paved the way for the hospital to provide better and more timely care to patients in Cherokee County and northeast Alabama. The expanded ER opened April 17.
The $1 million improvements include a new digital imaging suite and a digital mobile imaging unit to provide quicker and more accurate diagnoses. The number of exam rooms increased to seven from four. The ER also includes a triage room and a larger waiting room.
“We are going to be able to take care of patients quicker,” said Rebecca Smith, ER Nurse Manager at Cherokee. “A lot of our patients are familiar to us because we’ve all lived here a long time. It will be more special care that they will get, being in a private room and not having to wait so long. I think that’s going to be a huge factor in patient satisfaction.”
The Emergency Room can provide emergency evaluation, stabilization and treatment for ill or injured patients. Patients needing more complex care for traumatic life-threatening injuries or illnesses can be transferred to Floyd Medical Center’s Level II trauma center or another appropriate facility through Floyd Emergency Medical Services.
Emergency Room patients at Cherokee receive stabilizing treatment by ApolloMD, the same physicians group that provides emergency care at Floyd Medical Center and Polk Medical Center.